Pretty Cure Mirai Spark
by Pizza Cait
Summary: Shortly after arriving at Mirai Academy, Hiroko Tsubasa learns that she and several of her classmates hold the power to become the legendary warriors Pretty Cure. Together, they fight against the corrupt King Aseimera and his Black Triumvirate, who plot to invade and overrun Earth. (Fanseries)
1. Chapter 1

Tsubasa Hiroko was floating above Kyukai City.

It wasn't possible for her to be floating, she mused, and yet that was exactly what was happening. She was hovering several yards above the shopping district, the moon was high in the air, and the wind was whipping her blue nightgown about her ankles and her brownish-black, shoulder-length hair about her face.

_It's completely illogical... I'm obviously dreaming_. This was a terribly lucid dream, though. Hiroko grimaced. Oh, one of _those_ dreams again.

"The cracks in the barrier are beginning to widen. You'll be needed soon."

Hiroko wheeled around to find... well, she wasn't sure of her name, so she thought of her as the Dream Lady. The Dream Lady was a young woman with waist-length turquoise hair, the clear turquoise eyes, and that oddly knowing smile. As usual, she was surrounded by a pulsing pink aura.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand." Hiroko said, trying very hard not to think about falling "You said that the last three times, and it doesn't make much sense."

The Dream Lady sort of... floated towards where Hiroko was, putting a protective arm around the shoulder of the younger girl. "Look over there." she said, pointing Hiroko towards Kyukai's streets.

Hiroko's brown eyes widened as she saw what looked like black ink seeping through small cracks on the sidewalk... and more through the walls of the buildings... and still more from the roots of the trees that lined the district's main street. Soon, the whole area was pulsing with the stuff. "W-what _is_ that?"

"Our enemies are looking for a way into this world again." said the Dream Lady, as if this was a satisfactory answer. "If I and my teammates could deal with them, we would. However, we're preoccupied. That's why we need you and those other two. That's your great purpose."

Hiroko suppressed her urge to tell off the Dream Lady for being so infuriatingly vague and looked over to where she was pointing. If she focused, she could spot two pairs of lights off in the distance, one set bronze and black, the other yellow and silver. She felt a strange warmth emanating from her own body and looked down at herself. Like the woman, she was pulsing with her own light, a radiant dark blue.

"Look, could you please-" Hiroko started, only to be cut off by the ringing of Kyukai Hall's clock tower. As the bells rang out the hours, Hiroko felt her strength leave her, and she began to plunge downwards. The woman made no move to save her, leaving Hiroko to close her eyes and brace for impact as she hurtled towards Main Street's hard pavement...

...and sat bolt upright in her bed, letting out a squeak of terror. She was suddenly very grateful that she had moved into a vacant dorm room at Mirai Academy.

Hiroko laid out on her back and stared at the ceiling, feeling her pulse return to normal. "That again..." she muttered. If her first day at a boarding school miles away from her family wasn't enough to think about, now she had... whatever this was supposed to mean.

_But my "great purpose"... that is a pretty cool thing to think about..._ After all, that was why she'd enrolled here in the first place?

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

The grounds of Mirai Academy were almost completely vacant in the early hours of the morning, save for a small, dark blue cat. She wandered around the grounds, meowing discontentedly.

"Where are they, nya?" the cat asked herself, sniffing the air. Her blue eyes surveyed the area as the sun glinted off of her golden collar. "Where's Pretty Cure, nya?"

She stopped, sensing another presence. A wet ripping sound caught her ears as something that looked like glowing blue plasma suddenly appeared near a bench.

The cat wasted no time. As soon as the blob appeared, she pounced at it. She missed, and the blob slithered away from her, darting towards campus. "Come back here, nya!" she yelled, giving chase.

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **The Lonely Soaring Dragon! A Legendary Hero?**

* * *

_If I just play it cool on my first day, I have nothing to worry about._

With that in mind, Hiroko had made sure her uniform – a gray blazer, crimson neck ribbon, dark gray skirt – looked as sharp as possible, placed her new blue hairband into her brownish-black hair, which was worn in a hime cut, squared her shoulders, grabbed her schoolbag, and set off from the dorms, trying to exude as much confidence as possible. So far, it was going great... sure, she hadn't even arrived in the junior high building yet, but that was a small detail.

_It's true that I'm scared,_ she thought, striding purposefully through the front gates of Mirai Academy, making her way to the junior high building, and watching the other students filter into the front entrance. The front entrance loomed forth, as if challenging her. _But..._ "I have to try!" she said quietly, taking her first few triumphant steps into the front lobby...

...only to be bowled over, making a sharp "oof" as she spilled onto the lobby's floor. Several books fell out of her schoolbag in the process. Hiroko winced inwardly, knowing that everyone was staring at and probably silently laughing at her too, even as she disentangled herself from the one who'd knocked her over. So much for playing it cool...

"Shoot! I'm sorry, I got to a really good part, and I didn't see you-"

Hiroko had just finished disentangling herself from her assailant when he pulled her to her feet. He was a teenage boy, probably a bit younger than she was, with earlobe-length red hair that flipped up at the ends and a very prominent cowlick on the top of his head. Unlike the other male students, who all wore gray business-suit uniforms, he wore a blue military-style uniform with gold accents. He was carrying a book in one hand, and his red eyes were wide with concern.

"Oh... I'm fine." Hiroko said, smiling sweetly. She really wasn't, but he looked pretty upset. _That uniform... is he the Headmistress' kid?_

"I'm glad..." the boy said. He was blushing a little. "Oh... um, let me gets those for you." Before Hiroko could make another move, he was gathering her spilled books and placing them in her schoolbag.

"_Haruki_." a cold and high female voice sounded. The boy, Haruki, froze, looking more guilty than ever, as the voice's owner strolled over to them. She was a bit taller than Hiroko, with dark cerise hair worn in a bob haircut and cool, dark red eyes, which scrutinized her through wire-frame glasses. Like Haruki, she wore a military-style uniform, although hers was pink with silver accents and quite obviously tailored for a girl, with a pleated skirt and knee-length socks. "Are you hurt?" she asked Hiroko. Her face was near-expressionless, and there was little emotion in her voice.

Hiroko nodded, smoothing out her skirt and accepting her schoolbag from Haruki. She tried to ignore how the girl's stare seemed to bore right into her. "Your... brother was just a little distracted, and I was in the way. That's all."

Haruki sheepishly hid his book behind his back.

"I see." said the girl. Without a word, she'd walked off, falling in with a group of other students.

"Sorry about that. Sis isn't really a talker." Haruki said. "Er, by the way, I'm Fukuda Haruki, and that was Yasu, my big sister.".

"I'm Tsubasa Hiroko." After a moment, she added. "Say, Haruki, could you point me to Class 2-A?"

"Oh, 2-A?" Haruki said. "It's up the stairs over there and to your left. You can't miss it." He was beet red at this point. Hiroko, who had started off to her classroom, didn't even notice.

* * *

Introducing herself to Class 2-A was relatively easy, Hiroko discovered, as long as she focused on the wall behind them and didn't meet their eyes. "Anyway, I hope to have a great experience here!" she said, breathing an inner sigh of relief as her classmates answered with some flat applause.

"We're all glad to have you here, Tsubasa-san." the homeroom teacher, Shiroka Mieko said. She was a sharp-looking young woman with straight black hair and gray eyes. "Hmm... for now, sit right there, in front of Hamasaki-san." She indicated the desk in the first row over, in front of a tanned girl with long, dirty blond hair.

"Tsu-ba-sa!"

As soon as Hiroko had sat down, Hamasaki had reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, causing her to yelp in surprise and jump up a bit. She tried her best to ignore the laughter of the other students as she turned to face the other girl. "Why did you-"

"Just breaking the ice, that's all." Hamasaki said. She had friendly light brown eyes. She wasn't wearing a neck ribbon, leaving the collar of her dress shirt unbuttoned, and her blazer hung open. Instead of white socks, she was wearing thigh-length black stockings. "I'm a transfer too, so I know how you feel." She gave Hiroko a friendly handshake. "Name's Hamasaki Izumi, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"You too..." Hiroko said, smiling nervously. "Please don't do that again."

The class began buzzing excitedly. Hiroko followed their eyes towards the front of the room, where Shiroka-sensei was telling off a boy with short green hair and a girl with mid-length magenta hair which hung in her face, hiding her eyes. "Ishii Kou, Nishimura Emi, I am sure you have a perfectly good explanation for your tardiness."

"Well, yeah." Kou, the green-haired boy said. "See, Emi and I spotted this evil not-Emi that's obviously trying to take over her life. So, naturally, I had to save a cutie like her from the forces of evil, but before I could even make a move-"

"Just take your seat." Shiroka-sensei said. She clearly didn't want to deal with this.

Kou did so, sitting down right next to Hiroko. "Oh, hey!" he said, flashing a broad smile. "You're the transfer, right? Well, the _other _transfer. It's nice to meet another cute girl!"

Emi, who was sitting next to Kou, just slouched into her seat and sniffled a bit. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. _I wonder what happened?_ Hiroko thought.

"Say," Kou said, dropping his voice to a whisper as Shiroka-sensei commenced the lesson. "How about a tour after class? That assembly isn't until this evening, so I have plenty of time to show you ar-"

"Ishii!"

"Sorry, sorry." Kou muttered. He looked over at Hiroko, who nodded. "Alright! Looking forward to it." he mouthed back.

* * *

Izumi had insisted on going along on the tour of Mirai Academy with Hiroko and Kou. "I have nothing better to do." she'd explained. "Gymnastics practice is canceled, and my asshole brother is busy with the kendo team."

Emi, on the other hand, had been sort of dragged along with the three. She followed belong them silently with her head down as Kou led Hiroko and Izumi through the halls of Mirai Academy's junior high building and outside, past the high school building, through the club activities center, around the school gardens, past the high school building, through the library, near the health center, past the high school building...

"Hey, wait." Izumi said, bringing their group to an abrupt stop near the school gardens. "Ishii, we've been past the damn high school building three times already. What about the gymnasium? Or the staff building? Or I dunno, the cafe?"

"That's where I was headed..." Kou muttered. "It's northwest from here... so keep going up and right, up and right..."

"Found you!"

A girl with gold eyes and long black hair pulled into a ponytail strolled towards the group. Well, Hiroko was pretty sure she was a girl, even if she was wearing the male uniform for some reason. She was wearing a neck ribbon instead of a tie, although hers was black instead of crimson.

"So, Nishmura." the newcomer said, sidling up to Emi. "Care to explain why you were snooping around the Council's meeting room earlier? Or why you were loitering in front of the cafe? Or why you strolled through the gym when I was kind of trying to exercise with everyone else? And muttering all of this garbage about finding 'hopeful energy' to destroy, too. What is wrong with you, Nishimura?" She was uncomfortably close to Emi now. "_Well_?"

Emi only began crying. Hiroko, on the other hand, placed herself between the newcomer and Emi. "Stop it." she told the other girl. "Nishmura-san couldn't have done any of those things, because she's been with me all day. Besides, even if she _was_ guilty, that's still no reason to make her cry!"

"No use getting riled up at Shinobu like that, Tsubasa." Kou said. "He's a natural jackass."

Hiroko blinked. "Wait... _he_?"

"What, you thought he was a girl?" Kou said, laughing.

Shinobu smirked. "So did you, Ishii. Don't act like I've forgotten." He turned his attentions to Hiroko, as Kou clenched his fists and muttered something foul under his breath. "I'll excuse Nishimura for now." he said. "But I mean it, anything fishy, and I'll be back." That said, he left.

Izumi had wandered off from the group during the exchange, bored out of her mind. Something caught her eye. "Guys!" she hissed, gesturing towards where she stood, closer to the high school building. Someone who looked exactly like Emi was wandering around, carefully scrutinizing its outside. She was talking to herself, but the group was too far away to make out what she was saying. "I don't believe this..."

Kou charged towards the figure. "Found you!" he roared. "Thought you could steal Emi's identity, huh?"

Before Kou could meet not-Emi, a blue blur shot forward and barreled into her. Not-Emi yowled in pain, trying to fight off her attacker, which clung to her with all its strength. She finally succeeded in flinging the blue object off of herself. It careened into Hiroko, who stumbled backwards a bit.

_A cat...?_ Hiroko thought, looking down at the bundle. It certainly was: a blue cat, wearing a gold choker. It looked dazed, but otherwise unhurt. "Er, hey, you!" she called at not-Emi. "Why are you pretending to be Nishimura-san?"

Not-Emi didn't seem to notice Hiroko, let alone Kou and Izumi, who were advancing on her. "No importance." she said. "None of you. The destruction will begin soon, at the ceremony." She vanished without a trace.

Emi began to cry. "Th-this is too much..." she sobbed. "S-someone's really trying to steal my identity, and the Council secretary hates me, a-a-and my double is trying to destroy the world, and..."

Kou patted her on the shoulder. "There, there." he said. "I'm here now, nothing to worry about." He pointed at the cat in Hiroko's arms. "What are you gonna do with the... cat?"

"She looks okay... I think I'll take her back to the dorms for now." Hiroko said. She was trying to make sense of what had just transpired, but it wasn't happening. "I'm sure it won't be a big deal if she stays for a night."

The bells in Kyukai Hall's clock tower began to sound. "Huh, almost time for the assembly." Izumi said, checking her watch. "Hey, Tsubasa, Nishimura, care to walk back to the dorms with me?"

As the three girls walked back together, Hiroko flashed back to Not-Emi's words. The destruction will begin soon... perhaps that was connected to the Dream Lady's last message. Hiroko almost chided herself for taking that seriously before looking down at the sleeping cat in her arms. Blue cats from nowhere and evil vanishing doppelgangers didn't make much sense either.

The cat, on the other hand, stirred in Hiroko's arms. _This warmth..._ she thought, happily cuddling up to Hiroko's chest. _So much Spark Energy, nya! She's definitely the one!_

* * *

Hiroko's dorm room was as she'd left it: clean, carefully arranged, and very silent. Her roommate (an "Inoue Jun") wasn't here yet, although she'd been told she would arrive today. "Well, here we are, kitty." she said, gently laying the still-sleeping cat on the sofa. "I'm sorry it's so empty in here, but I just moved in, and-"

Without warning, the cat sat up and leaped towards Hiroko, knocking her to the ground, and somehow becoming... heavier in the process. There wasn't a cat on top of her. Instead, it was a petite human girl with blue hair the same shade of the cat's fur, done up into double buns, which somewhat resembled cat ears. She wore a pale yellow cardigan, a pink daisy-print shirt, a dark blue skirt, and yellow boots.

"Pretty Cure!" she said, cuddling up to her. "Found you, found you, found you, found you! I'm so happy!"

"I'm sorry... what?" Hiroko said, trying to pull herself from underneath the girl.

"You're one of the people I was searching for!" the girl said, continuing to cuddle Hiroko. "A kind person brimming with Spark Energy – the first legendary warrior, Pretty Cure!"

* * *

**Eyecatch One** : _Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two** : _Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in in pursuit of Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

Muse, the cat... er, girl Hiroko had brought back to her dorm was sitting at the other end of the dorm's endtable, with a plate full of cookies in front of her and a mug of tea in one hand. She noisily munched on the cookies, washing them down with a gulp of tea, as a half-shocked, half-amused Hiroko looked on.

"They're so good!" Muse cried, putting down her mug of tea. "I could eat a billion of them! My baby brother likes them too!"

"Thank you." Hiroko said. "Actually, I made them for my roommate, but it won't be too much trouble to bake more..." She paused. "Wait, baby brother?"

Hiroko's question was answered by some munching noises behind her tea mug. She moved it aside, finding a very rotund and very fluffy white mouse. He held one of her cookies, which was half his size, between his tiny paws. "Kii?" he squeaked, looking at Hiroko with round and curious pink eyes.

"That's Hiro-chama, Kisu!" Muse answered. "She's the first Pretty Cure! Hiro-chama, this is my baby brother, Kisu!"

"A cat... with a mouse for a brother... who keeps insisting I'm 'purikura'." Hiroko slouched. "I'm so confused."

"First of all, it's Pretty Cure, silly!" Muse said. She stood up, putting a hand on her hip. "I'm an emissary from the Hallowed Wellspring, tasked with gathering three people with Spark Energy – Pretty Cure! They'll defeat the forces of the Devil Kingdom, and save the day, and save us all!"

"Right, but what is Spark Energy?" Hiroko asked.

"Um... it's... this energy, and it sparks from your body. Not a lot of humans can see it, but us guardians can." Muse scrutinized Hiroko for a moment. "Yours is dark blue, Hiro-chama."

Hiroko flashed back to her dream. She remembered being surrounded by dark blue energy and feeling incredibly warm. "I think I might understand that part." she said. She noticed Kisu struggling with the cookie and began breaking it off into pieces for him as Muse continued, embellishing her story with elaborate hand gestures and dramatic flailing.

"Well, anyway, I arrived at this school, 'cause Papa said there'd be three people with lots of Spark Energy here, and then I found the school, and then I enrolled in the school, but I would have been here earlier, but then I felt this evil presence and it looked like a girl except it wasn't a girl and I followed her -"

"Er... Muse?" Hiroko said. "Please breathe."

Muse gasped for air, falling down heavily on her knees. "Sorry, sorry! Uh, so, I lost that evil person who was pretending to be your friend, but I found you, so that's good too! So... now we just have to go to the ceremony that girl said she was gonna target!" She took another cookie before stopping mid-bite, and jumping to her feet. "Hiro-chama! We've gotta hurry! That ceremony is starting really soon, right?"

"Yes, but..."

Muse grabbed Hiroko by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "C'mon, Hiro-chama, Kisu!" Before Hiroko knew it, she was being half-dragged out of her dorm, while Kisu clung to her shoulder.

* * *

The central auditorium of Mirai Academy was filled with students from all grade levels, all of whom were waiting for the Headmistress to give her commencement speech.

Muse, who had worn herself out during her run to the auditorium, had shifted back into her cat form and was currently cradled in Hiroko's arms. Kisu still rested on her shoulder. Hiroko looked around the auditorium and shook her head. "Muse, I'm sorry, but there's nothing here."

"Yeah, there is, nya! I feel it!" Muse whispered back. Hiroko tried to ignore the people staring at her as she stood in the aisle. "I definitely feel it, nya!"

"I'll keep an eye out, but I definitely don't see it." Hiroko said. She searched for a vacant seat.

"Hey, Tsubasa!" Kou sat in a row next to Emi. "You can sit here!" As Hiroko took her seat, he added "Of course, I saved it for you. I wouldn't make a cute girl _stand_."

"Thanks?" Hiroko said. She looked over at Emi, who was sitting there, expressionless. "Nishimura-san, are you alright?" Hiroko reached out and touched Emi. She vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind a few specks of dust. Hiroko jumped out of her chair in alarm. "Nishimura-san!"

"Emi vanished!" Kou said, also jumping up in alarm and triggering waves of chatter amongst surrounding students. "No, wait! That's gotta be Emi's evil twin! Cute little Emi wouldn't just dissolve like that! What in the-"

As this transpired, Yasu and Haruki walked onstage, followed by the Headmistress of Mirai Academy, Fukuda Yui.. She was a prim-looking woman who wore a white pantsuit. Her cerise hair was pinned into a tight bun. Yasu and Haruki followed behind her and stood on either side of her. Yasu looked perfectly stoic, but Haruki seemed rather bored.

"Students of Mirai Academy." Yui said. She reached into the front pocket of her suit, pulling out what looked like a green seed. "Donate your energy to our cause!" The seed began to pulse with the same black energy Hiroko had seen in her dream, as what looked like tendrils of light were pulled from the student body and drawn into the pod. Some of the affected students doubled over, shivering, while others hastily retreated from the auditorium, Others still collapsed where they were sitting. "Yes, that's it!" Yui hissed. "Your foolish hope shall become the power of despair!"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Mom?" Haruki demanded. Yasu stood by his side, still not visibly reacting.

"She's been dealt with." Not-Yui said. A horrified expression crossed Haruki's face. Without a word, he scrambled off-stage, Yasu following behind him. Not-Yui wiped her face with her sleeve, suddenly shifting form. In her place was a tall woman wearing a red catsuit with black gloves and black high-heeled boots. She had short, black hair and completely lacked facial features.

"It's Tamakushi! She's a member of the evil Black Triumvirate, nya!" Muse shouted, leaping from Hiroko's arms. Kisu followed, landing on her back.

At this point, only Hiroko, Muse, and Tamakushi were left in the auditorium. Everyone else had fled or passed out. "Oh, it's you." she said. "The one who attacked the puppet I sent to scout the area."

"Then Nishimura-san... the _other_ Nishimura-san was-" Hiroko began, staring down Tamakushi from the central aisle of the auditorium. "Look, I'm still not sure what's going on, but between hurting Nishimura-san like this and impersonating the Headmistress it's too much!"

"Hmm?" Tamakushi stared quizzically at Hiroko... well, as much as someone without eyes could stare. "You weren't affected at all... you're one of the ones called 'Pretty Cure', I suppose."

"Yes she is, nya!" Muse said. Kisu squeaked in agreement. "And she's gonna transform and save the world and save us all, nya!"

Tamakushi chuckled. "Is that so? Then play with this, legendary Pretty Cure!" She tossed the seed pod at a row of vacant auditorium seats. "Come forth, Dogou!"

The seed pod sent forth roots into one of the auditorium chairs. The entire row pulsed with black light, and suddenly, Hiroko found herself staring down a towering, snakelike monster made of chairs. It had menacing red eyes and a gaping mouth.

Hiroko squeaked in terror as the monster lunged at her. She pressed herself against one of the auditorium walls, only for the monster to smash straight through it, sending her flying. Luckily, some nearby bushes caught her landing. It still hurt, though.

The snake monster let out another loud bellow as its mouth opened and it began to make loud slurping noises. What looked like ribbons of golden light were being pulled into its mouth.

Muse rushed to Hiroko's side, Kisu in tow. "It's draining the sealing energy from the air, nya! If it keeps doing that, then the barrier separating your worlds will weaken, and the power of destruction will enter your world, nya! You have to stop it!"

Hiroko painfully rose to her feet. "I don't know how!" she said, watching the snake monster thrash around. It lunged in her direction again, and she stumbled out of its way, pulling Muse with her. She shook her head. "I wish I knew how... I'd give anything to stop this!"

"You've just gotta transform, Hiro-chama!" Muse said, as Hiroko dodged the Dogou's attacks. "I... I don't know how you transform, but you have to, nya!"

"Huh?" Hiroko was now pressed against a nearby wall. She was painfully aware of how close the snake monster was to her and how Tamakushi was surveying the scene from a few yards away. _C'mon, Hiroko, think! I came here to find my purpose, not to be eaten by a chair snake!_ Her eyes snapped open. _Perhaps this is my great purpose – to become Muse's 'legendary warrior' and protect everyone!_ "I have to try!" she said, faintly glowing with a dark blue aura, just as the snake monster struck at her...

There was a flash of blue light. Time seemed to stand still for Hiroko, as a blue and white cellphone-like device hovered in front of her. She reached out and took it in her hand – it was strangely warm. "This is?"

"Your Puricell, nya!" Muse said. "Now transform! The keywords are 'Transmute, Pretty Cure Henshin', nya!"

Hiroko nodded. "Transmute!" she shouted, as she pressed the three buttons on the front in sequence. She began to pulse with visible blue energy. "Pretty Cure Henshin!"

The energy gathered closer to Hiroko, covering her in a misty blue aura, as she closed her eyes and transformed. Her hairband vanished from her hair as the aura gathered about her body and dissipated in a spray of water, creating a layered, white and dark blue midriff-baring top with frilly white shoulder pads, a ruffly dark blue and white layered skirt with a navy belt, worn over navy bike shorts, and dark blue shin-length boots. She crossed her arms in front of her as she gained dark blue elbow-length arm warmers with white heart ornaments on the back, and a white chest bow fastened by a gemstone-studded, bluish-silver heart brooch. Her hair brightened to copper and grew past her shoulders as a dark blue ribbon appeared in it. She opened her eyes, which had turned light brown, as she gained blue heart earrings and a blue choker with a white crystal pendant. Finally, her Puricell appeared at her waist, held in a pink and white pouch.

She landed and posed. "The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

"Alright, nya!" Muse ran around Cure Draco's feet excitedly. "The first Pretty Cure is here, and she's so, so, so, so awesome, nya!"

"Kii!" Kisu chirped in agreement.

Cure Draco looked down at herself. "What in the-"

"This is a bit more interesting." Tamakushi drawled from her perch on a nearby tree. "Destroying a mere civilian would have been rather dull, but a Pretty Cure..." If she had a mouth, she would be grinning in delight. "Dogou, finish her off!"

The snake monster roared, charging at Cure Draco. She nimbly dodged, leaping over its head and landing somewhat unsteadily behind it.

"In this form, you can use your Spark Energy at full power, nya!" Muse informed the puzzled-looking Draco. "So just fight with all you got, okay, nya?"

Cure Draco nodded. She wasn't much of a fighter, but she did feel a lot more powerful in this form. As the snake monster lunged at her again, she punched it sending it sliding backwards. Encouraged, she followed it up with a series of punches, followed by a well-aimed kick, trying her best to dodge its counterattacks. Her fighting moves were a bit on the clumsy side, but with the strength and speed boost her powers gave her, it didn't seem to matter.

"Dogou, what are you doing?" Tamakushi hissed. "Use the power of despair and destroy her!"

The Dogou opened its mouth, releasing a torent of black energy. Cure Draco instinctively crossed her arms in front of her, creating a small barrier of mist. The energy dissipated harmlessly across the barrier. Before the Dogou could make another move, Cure Draco hit it with a flying kick, knocking it over. It landed in a sprawled heap, raising its head weakly and moaning.

"Alright, nya!" Muse looked positively ecstatic. "Now finish it off!"

Cure Draco didn't ask Muse how – the words had already appeared in her head. "Pretty Cure Illuse Ring!" A ring of mist traveled from her hands, surrounding the Dogou. It looked around in confusion as a concentrated ball of water hit it from above. It gave one last roar as it vanished, leaving behind some abandoned auditorium seats and a gold orb of light.

Tamakushi only "tch'ed" in derision before vanishing in a flash of pale blue light.

Kisu waved his paws to the orb of light the Dogou had left behind. As Cure Draco watched, the orb floated towards him and vanished. Kisu himself briefly glowed the same color as the orb before returning to normal.

"Its some of the sealing energy the Dogou absorbed, nya." Muse explained to the puzzled Draco as Kisu wandered back over to her. "Even though a lot of it was destroyed, if Kisu absorbs enough of it, he can build a new seal, nya!"

"Okay, I suppose." Cure Draco surveyed the site of her first fight, trying to process what had just happened. "I'm still not sure what's going on, but this wasn't that bad, Muse." She looked around. "Muse?" Both the cat and the mouse had vanished. Cure Draco started forwards, only to collapse to her knees in exhaustion, becoming Hiroko again in a flash of blue light.

Unbeknownst to Hiroko, another figure, that of a woman, watched her from the rooftops."Not too bad, for a newcomer." the figure said, before vanishing.

* * *

Hiroko wasn't even able to enter Class 2-A the next day before a tearful Emi knocked her to the ground. "Oh, Tsubasa-san!" she sobbed. "I s-suddenly got sick the other evening – I wasn't even thinking of my evil twin, I d-d-didn't-"

"It's fine, it's fine." Hiroko said, suppressing the urge to yawn. Between the fight yesterday and the time she'd spent trying to find Muse and Kisu, to little avail, she was exhausted. As the two girls rose to their feet, Hiroko pulled Emi into a hug. "Your double is gone now, so you don't have to worry, Nishimura-san."

Emi only nodded, returning Hiroko's embrace.

Hiroko entered the classroom and took her seat. The class was abuzz with stories about "some psycho" impersonating the Headmistress, how her children had found her unconscious but safe backstage at the auditorium, how the janitors had found the auditorium completely intact, save for a row of its seats, which had been sitting outside.

"I blame ghosts." Kou said. "I mean, between Emi's double and the assembly being targeted, it's obviously malevolent spirits back for revenge! Hey, maybe Mirai Academy is built on a cursed burial ground!"

"D-don't say that!" Emi said, shivering.

"Before we begin today, we have a new transfer student." Shioka-sensei said, cutting off the classroom chatter. "Come on in, Inoue-san."

"Another one?" Izumi muttered.

Hiroko gasped in recognition as the new student entered. It was obviously Muse, who now wore the female uniform of Mirai Academy, albeit with blue tights instead of white socks. "I'm Inoue Jun!" she said, writing her name in very large lettering on the chalkboard. "I like cats, and mice, and delicious sweets, and when I grow up, I want to be a doctor! I wanna make tons and tons of new friends while I'm here – and I've already made one, actually! Hi, Hiro-chama!" Muse began enthusiastically waving in Hiroko's direction.

"H-hello... Inoue-san." Hiroko said, shyly returning the wave. She noticed Kisu peeking from Muse's schoolbag. _This is going to be an interesting year..._

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW!

* * *

Izumi: Say, Tsubasa. What's your dream?

Hiroko: Mine? To find my purpose, I suppose. Well, that and find those 'other two' the Dream Lady was talking about.

Izumi: And mine is to become partners with someone cool and str- what 'other two'? Are you forming a team or what?

Hiroko: Um, technically, yes, but-

Izumi: Then consider me in!

Hiroko: Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "The Lovely Fighting Tortoise! A Reckless Hero!" Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2

Tamakushi knew exactly what to expect as soon as she arrived in the Black Palace's austere and spacious throne room, which was ornamented in black and various shades of red. King Aseimera had been waiting in a stupor, drinking from a wine goblet and half-listening to his attendant. As usual, he had been vastly more interested in the very large, gnarled tree that took up half the throne room, bending in a sort of half-arc near the King's throne. Green seed pods hung from its branches, which twitched with a life of their own, and a quiet moaning sound emanated from the tree itself.

Tamakushi had given her report shortly after her arrival. Naturally, Aseimera had immediately snapped out of his stupor and launched into one of his famous temper tantrums.

"THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FINISHED!" Aseimera roared, sending small tremors through the throne room. He was incredibly large and heavy-set, with a lion-like face, coiled black horns, thick arms and legs covered in whitish fur, and ending in clawed paws covered in grayish scales, and a gray, lizard-like tail. He wore red and black royal finery, and his body was marked with a number of painful-looking wounds. "PRETTY CURE WAS DESTROYED! ALL OF THEM WERE! WHY ARE THEY BACK? WHY? WHY?"

"With all due respect, Your Grace, it's a different Pretty Cure." the King's attendant said, bracing himself against said throne to keep from being blown over. He looked to be in his early twenties and had pointed ears, whisker-like markings on his face, carefully-styled red hair and vivid green eyes. He wore a tailored gray and black three-piece suit with a red cravat and black dress shoes. "It's been ten years, hasn't it? Vermin respawn quickly."

"Besides, there's only one of them." Tamakushi drawled. "Nothing to work yourself up over."

Aseimera bared his teeth and lunged forwards, clearly ready to leap out of his throne and maul Tamakushi... only for his face to contort in pain as he fell back heavily, gasping. Tamakushi snorted in derision. "Hinyu, my medicine..." he panted. The red-haired man, Hinyu, nodded and left the throne room. "I don't care if it's one Pretty Cure or five Pretty Cures... I just want them all dead."

"Your Majesty," a deep, mature-sounding voice intoned. The voice's owner had entered the throne room without a sound – an unusual feat, considering his size. He was about seven feet tall and well-muscled, with rock-like bronze skin, short horns, clawed feet, and black eyes. He wore a long, sleeveless red and black coat and loose dark red pants tied with a rope. A jagged scar crossed his bare chest. "I shall meet those two in battle."

The newcomer hadn't entered alone. He was followed closely by a much smaller, androgynous-looking figure, who resembled a humanoid rag doll made of pale cream-colored cloth and hovered slightly off the ground. They had white yarn-like hair, eyes like black boot buttons, and green and brown ragged clothing. Various stitches criss-crossed their body, including some that went from ear to ear.

"Go to it, Seimono." Aseimera muttered. As Seimono walked over to the large tree, which dropped a seed pod in his waiting hand, he added "Wait... those _two_?"

Seimono nodded. "I saw two Cures opposing me, although I did not see the outcome. No matter. Let us begin planning, Kamryou." He nodded to the androgynous figure. The two left the throne room before Aseimera could completely process what Seimono had just said.

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

"There we are!" Hiroko said, adding the final item to her and Muse's twin lunchboxes – a few fresh-baked cookies. The two girls stood side by side in the small kitchen of their shared dorm room.

Muse's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "It looks so, so, so, so good!" she cheered. Kisu added approving squeaks from his position on her shoulder.

"I used to pack my big sister's lunches all the time, since she was so busy." Hiroko said. "It wasn't much, but-"

She noticed that Muse had seized her lunchbox from the kitchen counter and was preparing to eat the contents. She took it away from her. "Lunch isn't for a few hours, Muse."

Both Muse and Kisu looked hurt... and both recovered a few seconds later. "That's okay!" Muse chirped. "We can pass the time by finding the other two Pretty Cures!"

"Right, about that..." Hiroko said. "Where do we even start looking for these other two?"

"That's easy!" Muse said. "We look at Mirai Academy 'cause Papa and one of Papa's friends said so! Maybe of our classmates is a Pretty Cure..."

* * *

In the gymnasium of Mirai Academy, Hamasaki Izumi, who had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and was wearing a gray leotard, was practicing with her ribbon. She twirled, flexed, and flitted about the gym floor, letting the ribbon flow around her.

She sneezed, bringing her practice to a halt.

Izumi looked up at the rafters. "Sheesh, who's talking about me _now_?"

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **The Lovely Fighting Tortoise! A Reckless Hero!**

* * *

Gym class was making Hiroko nervous.

It wasn't that she was awful at sports – she wasn't great, but she wasn't terrible either – it was that the fact that Muse was involved. As soon as the second-year students had commenced their warm-up run around the gym, Muse had taken off like a shot and was currently several yards ahead of everyone else. And if she ran out of energy like she did during her rush to the auditorium...

_She could turn into a cat in front of everyone! _With that in mind, Hiroko immediately slowed down in order to keep an eye on Muse.

"Ah, Mu... Inoue-san!" Hiroko called after the other girl, who didn't seem to listen. Suddenly, Muse collapsed to her knees, causing Hiroko to stop in her tracks. "Inoue-san!" she called again, more insistently now.

"Tsubasa, look out!" Hiroko turned in time to see Izumi rushing towards her. She squeaked in surprise and just barely scrambled out of the way. As Hiroko leapt to her feet and fell in with Izumi, the other girl added "Why are you so damn protective of the Inoue kid anyway? She's fine."

Izumi indicated Muse, who had stood back up and started catching her breath. She grinned and flashed a peace sign as the two passed her by.

"Well, it's just-" Hiroko started.

"Tsubasa, you are never going to get anywhere if you worry about everyone else like that. A truly strong person focuses on themselves!" With that said, Izumi took off at full speed, weaving in and out of the other students in her rush to the front of the pack, leaving a baffled Hiroko in her dust.

Izumi was like that through the rest of gym. She scaled the climbing wall with ease, as Hiroko struggled behind her, easily cleared the hurdles the gym teacher sat up while Hiroko almost knocked them over, and easily hoisted herself by the pull-up bars, while Hiroko dropped after a few moments.

As Hiroko fell to the ground, Muse rushed to her side. "Hiro-chama! Look, look!" She indicated Izumi, who was still doing pull-ups, as the other students looked on. Before Hiroko could respond, Muse took her by the hand.

Hiroko gasped. A black aura was emanating from Izumi in bursts. "That's-"

"Spark Energy!" Muse said. "She's the-"

* * *

"-second Pretty Cure! The next person I've been searching for who will save the world and save us all!"

As soon as gym had been let out, Muse has spotted Izumi and rushed forwards, cutting her off from joining everyone in the girl's locker room. At this point, Muse, a confused-looking Izumi, and a sheepish Hiroko, were the only ones left in the hallway.

Izumi stared at Muse in confusion. "Super photo booths?"

"No, super_heroes_!" Muse said. "Your aura is really, really, really strong, Izu-chama! That means you're a transforming superhero with awesome powers, just like Hiro-chama!" Before Hiroko could interject, Muse suddenly yawned and transformed back into a cat. "Uh... please say yes, nya!" she added, staring up at Izumi.

Izumi looked from Hiroko to Muse and back to Hiroko. "So you're saying Tsubasa is also one of these 'Pretty Cures?'" She raised an eyebrow. "And auras... say, Tsubasa, did you have this freaky floating dream, where some glowing lady was talking about auras and great purposes and whatever too?"

Hiroko nodded. "Actually, I think I saw you and someone else in my dream, Hamasaki-san."

"I'd say I was skeptical, but I can't argue with _them_." Izumi said, indicating Muse and Kisu, the latter of whom had popped up while the two were conversing. "Tell ya what, Tsubasa – meet me in the school courtyard for lunch, and I'll give you my answer."

* * *

Numerous students dotted the ornate central courtyard of Mirai Academy during lunch time. Izumi was not among them.

Muse had already opened her lunchbox and started eating, sometimes passing bits to Kisu, even as the two girls searched for Izumi. "I wouldn't worry, unless... Hiro-chama, what if the bad guys found out Izu-chama is a Pretty Cure!" She began flailing around in panic, still keeping a firm grip on her lunchbox. "What if they kidnapped Izu-chama and tied her up and she's crying for help but she can't escape 'cause I'll never hear her andthenwe'llneverfindthesecond-"

"Please move."

As Muse caught her breath, Hiroko turned to find Fukuda Yasu. The older girl was seated on a park bench, with a sketchpad in her lap. She was probably drawing the statue behind Hiroko and Muse... who were currently blocking her view."My apologies!" Hiroko said, stepping aside and gently nudging Muse out of the way.

Yasu only nodded, returning to her work with the same stoic expression on her face. If she'd noticed anything odd about the two's behavior, she gave no indication of it.

"I'm still not sure what to make of Fukuda-san." Hiroko said as she and Muse wandered towards the courtyard's central amphitheater. "And I wish I knew where Hamasaki-san was..."

Izumi entered the courtyard just then, schoolbag over her shoulder and lunchbox in hand. She was currently in a heated argument with a boy who had deeply tanned skin, spiky blond hair and blue eyes. He wasn't wearing his uniform's tie and also let his blazer hang open, although he'd at least tucked his shirt in.

"I don't care what you say, it's definitely pizza!" Izumi was saying. "Nothing beats the heavenly taste or the infinite possibilities of pizza, especially not your stupid noodles!"

"And you call yourself an athlete." the boy snorted. "At least soba noodles are remotely healthy, compared to your greasy garbage."

"Remotely healthy and completely tasteless!" Izumi said. She noticed Hiroko. "Hey, Tsubasa! Which wins - pizza or soba noodles?"

"Um... pizza?" Hiroko said.

"Alright!" Izumi put an affectionate arm around Hiroko's shoulders, pulling her down to sit on the one of the amphitheater steps. She was wearing black shorts under her skirt, Hiroko noted."See, Tsubasa understands my heart, Shouji."

Shouji raised an eyebrow. "So, are you cheating on your boyfriend now, or-"

"Oh, shove off!" Izumi said. Shouji shrugged and walked off as Izumi opened her lunchbox. It was crammed full of food – probably twice as much as Hiroko had packed. "Sorry about that, Tsubasa." she said, in between bites of food. She took bigger bites than Muse. "That asshole brother of mine just doesn't understand the appeal of pizza." After a moment, she added "By the way, the answer is 'yes'."

Muse was thrilled. "Really? Really, really?"

"Really, really, really." Izumi said. "I mean, superhero duty _would_ get in the way of gymnastics, but between that dream, the weird crap that went on at the assembly, and that stuff Inoue... Muse said, I'm curious and I want in." She nodded resolutely before adding "I wonder what Sieg-kun would think of all this..."

"Sieg-kun? Is that your boyfriend, Hamasaki-san?" Hiroko inquired.

"Well, kinda..." Izumi reached into her schoolbag, pulling out her wallet. She opened it and took out a photograph, which she passed to Hiroko. It depicted Izumi, who wore the navy blue sailor uniform of another school, posing much to a rather androgynous-looking boy who stood about a head taller than her. He wore a navy blue gakuran and had gray eyes and short, slightly spiky teal hair.

"He's kind of handsome..." Hiroko said, too quietly for Izumi to hear.

"Sieg-kun... er, Shun Siegel is the 'Speed Prince of Kyukai', or that's what my classmates always said." Izumi explained. "We used to be classmates - it was just for a year, since Sieg-kun was in the last year of high school, but still! We hit it off right away, and I guess you can say... well, we're really just friends right now, but maybe someday..." Izumi trailed off, sighing wistfully and blushing a little.

"You have good taste, Hamasaki-san." Hiroko said, as Muse looked on in confusion. She somewhat reluctantly handed the photo back to Izumi.

"Don't I?" Izumi noticed Hiroko's expression. "Say... I've got an idea! Tsubasa, you and I are gonna go to the Starlight Speedway after school - that's where Sieg-kun is training to be a great racing superstar! I'm sure you'd enjoy that - and besides, I've gotta get to know my new teammate a bit better!"

Hiroko and Muse briefly traded glances. Visiting a racetrack didn't sound like something Hiroko would have enjoyed at all, but if she and Izumi were going to be teammates, she'd try it. Besides, she really wouldn't mind meeting Shun...

* * *

"So, how did you end up at Mirai Academy anyway, Tsubasa?" Izumi asked Hiroko as they walked down Kyukai's main street together, en route to the bus station. Hiroko carried Muse in her arms, while Kisu sat on her shoulder.

"Oh... a friend of my parents, Ishii Marina, asked me to go. I was second choice, after my older sister, Chiaki, said no." Hiroko sighed. "I was kind of surprised, to be honest. After all, Chiaki's an amazing person and the one who takes chances... and I'm just-"

"The amazing superstar Hiro-chama!" Muse said.

Hiroko sweatdropped. "Um, not really? Aside from my cooking and... the whole Pretty Cure thing, I'm not that great."

Izumi rolled her eyes. "The false modesty isn't heroic, Tsubasa."

"I'm being honest." Hiroko said. "So, what about you, Hamasaki-san? Why did you decide to attend Mirai?"

"Some lady asked me about attending too." Izumi said. "My folks... hit a rough patch and are planning on moving, so it was either go to the boarding school or leave my home town. The choice was obvious." Izumi had stopped in her tracks and was surveying the sign in front of Western Paradise, the local pizza parlor. "Oh, hey, they have a deal on cheese bread! Wanna grab some for the road, Tsubasa?" She frowned, tapping the other girl on the shoulder. "Hey, Tsubasa?"

Hiroko was currently distracted by the sight of the customer sitting at one of the tables outside the parlor and enjoying some pizza, if only because of how incredibly tall he was – six and a half feet, maybe seven. He was a bald man with brown skin who wore a pink floral shirt, white slacks and sandals. The much smaller... person (she couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl) sitting across from him held a slice of pizza away from them, examining it as if they weren't sure what to do with it. They had shaggy white hair and wore a loose brown sweater, black canvas pants, and gray tennis shoes.

Muse and Kisu promptly brought Hiroko out of her reverie by staring up at her and meowing insistently and squeaking into her ear, respectively. "Alright." she said. "I probably have enough to buy two – one for me, one for Muse and Kisu."

"Sounds like a plan!" Izumi said. "I'll get two loaves too! Then off to the Starlight Speedway!" As the two girls entered the building, she added "Did you see that dude outside? He was _huge_!"

"So those are my opponents." the large man said. "And this 'Starlight Speedway' is where we attack. I see." He glanced towards his companion, who was still staring down the slice of pizza in their hand. "Kamryou, what are you doing?"

"Don't like this..." Kamryou muttered. They acted like the pizza would wink out of existence if they glared at it intensely enough.

"You haven't even eaten it." Seimono took another bite of his own pizza. "There's nothing wrong with human food, Kamryou. In fact, I quite enjoy it."

Kamryou took a hesitant bite of the pizza... and another, and another. "It's good..." they said.

Seimono flashed his vassal a comforting smile, even as his thoughts drifted to his opponents. _Pretty Cure... I know how our meeting begins, but how shall it end?_

* * *

**Eyecatch One** : _Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two** : _Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in in pursuit of Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

The Starlight Speedway wasn't particularly busy when Izumi and Hiroko arrived, although the seats were still dotted with people, and the track was clearly in use.

"It's a test session." Izumi explained, finishing off her second loaf of cheese bread. She'd scarfed the first one down on the bus. "I'd love to take you to an actual race, but we couldn't chat with Sieg-kun then." Izumi said. She was focused on the teal and green '06' stock car that was zipping around the track. "Look at that! What amazing speed... Sieg-kun is just eighteen but already so promising... I wish I could be half as cool..."

Hiroko leaned on the railings near the track, tracking the movement of Shun's car as it came to a stop. She was already looking forward to speaking with him.

"I don't get it, nya." Muse said. "Izu-chama, how come you're so interested in this person?"

"Because Sieg-kun is the kind of strong person I wanna be, and the kind of cool person I wanna be with!" Izumi said, pumping a fist into the air. "Well, that, and Sieg-kun is also really handsome."

Shun Siegel, who was clad in a green and black racing suit, had stepped out of his car and removed his helmet. He was currently addressing an older man, probably his manager. "So, Arashino, how was that?"

"Shun, it's a good effort." the older man, Arashino said. "But don't push this machine too hard- we haven't worked everything out just yet."

Shun looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry, sorry... I'll be sure to keep that in mind..." He noticed Izumi waving at him. "Ah! Izumi!" Shun nodded to Arashino before heading over to where Izumi and Hiroko were. Izumi led Hiroko off the bleachers to meet him. "Haven't seen you in a while – how's Mirai Academy treating you?"

"Oh, fine, fine." Izumi was blushing again. "I'm making progress on my gymnastics, and – you okay, Tsubasa?"

Hiroko was transfixed by Shun's appearance. "He really is handsome..." she whispered, more to herself than anyone.

Shun, who had apparently heard Hiroko, looked rather concerned. "Oh... er, excuse me, Miss-"

"Tsubasa... Tsubasa Hiroko..." Hiroko muttered, feeling heat rush to her face.

"Well, Hiroko – can I call you Hiroko? – I appreciate the compliment, but I really need to point out that-" Shun halted mid-sentence, distracted by the shouts and pointing of the crowd in the bleachers. The other bystanders at the Speedway seemed equally surprised at the sight of the extraordinarily tall horned man and the floating rag person accompanying him, both of whom were standing a few yards from the bleachers. "You're kidding... they're here _now_?" he muttered under his breath.

"This is the place." Seimono said. He wordlessly held another green seed pod into the air as it pulsed with black energy and pulled tendrils of hopeful energy from all of the bystanders, causing most everyone present to collapse. However, Shun remained conscious - he seemed a bit queasy but was otherwise fine.

"Just who are you?!" Shun demanded, rushing forward to meet the two newcomers. He noticed Hiroko and Izumi following a few yards behind him and immediately ceased charging, instead placing himself in front of both girls. He looked ready to take on anything Seimono and Kamryou threw at him, superpowers or none.

"I am Seimono, loyal servant of King Aseimera. And my business is only with those two." He indicated Hiroko and Izumi.

"Siegel-san, please take cover somewhere." Hiroko said. "You don't have to worry about us - we'll... someone called 'Pretty Cure' will take care of the situation, I'm sure of it."

To her surprise, Shun cooperated immediately. "'Pretty Cure', huh? I trust you Tsubasa." With a warm smile and a nod, he ran off to take cover, leaving Izumi and a red-faced Hiroko to stare down Seimono and Kamryou, while Muse and Kisu watched from the sidelines.

"I've anticipated this. Do not let me down, Pretty Cure." Seimono said, tossing the seed pod at a nearby stack of tires. "Come forth, Dogou!"

In a flash of purplish-black light, the stack of tires resolved itself into a large, red-eyed tire golem. Just like last time, it gave a roar, drawing ribbons of sealing energy into its mouth.

"Hiroko! Transform, nya!" Muse shouted.

Hiroko nodded, withdrawing her blue and white Puricell. "Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"

In a flash of blue light, Hiroko transformed and posed. "The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

Izumi's eyes widened. "Whoa! So that's 'Pretty Cure', huh?"

"Where is the other one?" Seimono inquired, as the Dogou charged forwards to take on Cure Draco. She stepped aside and dodged its assault, just barely.

"The other..." Cure Draco looked out of the corner of her eye at Izumi, who was cheering her on from the sidelines. "She's-" Cure Draco was cut off by the Dogou, who took advantage of her distraction to slug her sending her flying into the bleachers.

"Tsubasa!"

"It's fine, Hamasaki-san!" Cure Draco pulled herself to her feet and used the bleachers as a springboard, attempting to jump kick the Dogou. She missed, landing and stumbling a few feet away. "I'll hold it off!" She dodged another swing from the Dogou. It was larger than the last one, but it also seemed to be a bit faster.

Seimono and Kamryou only watched silently from a distance. The former didn't seem particularly impressed and the latter seemed rather antsy.

Cure Draco finally shoved the Dogou away from her with a punch. Before she could prepare her attack, it gave another roar and began shooting sections of its body – giant tires – at her. She managed to dodge the first one, but the second sent her flying backwards against a wall. As she slumped to the wall, the Dogou roared in triumph and resumed sucking sealing energy from the air... only to be interrupted by someone chucking a rock at its face... and then another, then two more after that.

Izumi stood in front of the Dogou. She chucked another rock at its head, apparently unfazed by how the towering golem looked ready to attack her at any given moment. "I dunno what any of this is about." she said. "But I do know that I won't forgive anything who just beats on people like this... or _that_!" She indicated the collapsed racetrack attendees, before clenching her fists in anger. "You have definitely crossed the line!"

The Dogou only lifted its fist, preparing to crush Izumi flat. "Hamasaki-san!" Cure Draco yelled, struggling up from her sprawled position.

Izumi began to glow with a faint black aura... just as the Dogou slammed its fist down on top of her.

"Izu-chama!" Muse cried.

There was an explosion of black light, and the Dogou was blown back. Izumi stood there, unharmed, as a black and bronze cellphone-like device hovered down in front of her. She grinned and eagerly grabbed it. "Transmute!" she shouted, as she pressed the three buttons on the front in sequence and began to pulse with black energy. "Pretty Cure Henshin!"

The energy gathered closer to Izumi, covering her in a sparking black aura, as she closed her eyes and transformed. The aura gathered about her body and vanished in a flash of black sparks, creating a black dress with bronze shoulder pads, a ruffly skirt, worn over black bike shorts, a dark gray belt, dark gray thigh-length stockings and black boots with bronze tips. She flexed, sending sparks of energy traveling over her body, creating a gray vest fastened by a bronze bow with a blackish-silver gemstone-studded heart brooch and black arm warmers with bronze heart ornaments on the back. Her hair lengthened a bit, brightened to blond, and became done up into twintails with black ribbons. She opened her eyes, which had turned gold, as she gained black heart earrings and a black choker. Finally, her Puricell appeared at her waist, held in a pink and white pouch.

She landed and posed. "The powerful black shell, Cure Kame!"

"Check it out, nya!" Muse said, jumping for joy. Kisu celebrated right along with her. "Another totally awesome Pretty Cure!"

"Cure Kame!" Cure Draco joined the newly-awakened Cure's side. "If we combine our powers-"

Cure Kame only charged straight past the stunned Draco, meeting the Dogou head-on. She dodged and weaved to avoid its attacks with gymnastics maneuvers, before kicking the puzzled Dogou in the back. "Don't worry! I've got it under con-"

The Dogou shot a section of its body at her sending her flying... but not very far. Draco had intercepted the floating tire, pushing it back.

"Hey, thanks!" Cure Kame said. "I could have handled that myself... but still!" The two Cures pushed the floating tire forwards, sending it slamming into the Dogou. It stumbled backwards before falling heavily on its back. Cure Kame stepped forward. "That's enough, Tsubasa. Leave this one to me!"

A sphere of energy, resembling a rhythmic gymnastics ball, appeared behind Cure Kame. "Pretty Cure Megaton... Shot!" She kicked the sphere into the air, catching it, rolling it up to her hands and sending it flying at the enemy. There was a flash of black light, and the Dogou gave one last roar as it vanished, leaving behind a pile of tires and an orb of golden energy, which floated over to the waiting Kisu.

"Well, this just rules every-" Cure Kame started, only for green tendrils of cloth to lash out from behind them, binding both Cures tightly. "-thing?"

Kamryou had sneaked behind the Cures while they were battling the Dogou, waiting for the right time to strike. They now held the two tightly with the cloths that comprised their body. "Finish them now, Seimono-sama!" Kamryou yelled.

Seimono only shook his head. "Kamryou..."

"I-If you don't, I will!" Kamryou tightened their bonds around Cure Draco and Cure Kame, who both unsuccessfully tried to free themselves. For such a frail-looking being, Kamryou's grip was amazingly strong. "I don't want Seimono-sama to battle anymore!" Seimono didn't say a word, let alone make a move.

A bronze energy ball hit Kamryou from behind. They cried out in pain as their cloth bindings froze and shattered, setting Draco and Kame free and leaving them to collapse on the group in a heap. The female figure from before stood in the bleachers... and vanished a moment later.

Seimono wordlessly walked over to where Kamryou laid. He picked up his weakened vassal, whispered something to them, and then walked off, leaving two somewhat perplexed and rather tired Cures behind.

* * *

"I'm glad you're both safe" Shun told Hiroko and Izumi, who was now holding Kisu and Muse, some time later. The three stood together outside the Starlight Speedway's entrance. Shun had traded out his racing suit for a black leather bomber jacket, a green T-shirt, fingerless gloves, blue jeans, and dark gray steel-toe shoes. "I sort of... went out cold after I found a place to hide, so I have no idea what happened."

"Well-" Izumi began. She noticed Hiroko and Muse's worried expressions. "We found our own hiding spot, and that 'Pretty Cure' Tsubasa told you about saved the day! And let me tell you, the one in black, Cure Kame - she was something else! You would have liked her, Sieg-kun."

Hiroko sighed deeply. "Hamasaki-san..." she muttered. "Siegel-san, I hope I can actually see one of your races, some time in the future."

"You should! Sieg-kun really is amazing." Izumi said. "I wish more girls could be as cool and strong as she is!"

Hiroko felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She stared at Izumi, and then at Shun. "_She_?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you earlier." Shun said, looking very embarrassed. "A lot of people don't realize I'm a girl at first, and it can cause problems. I thought that might have been the case with you, so..." She dropped into an apologetic bow. "Mir leid!"

Hiroko sweatdropped. "Um, Siegel-san, it was really my fault for making those assumptions, so..." She dropped into an apologetic bow of her own. "I'm very sorry!"

"Sheesh, both of you..." Izumi muttered.

"So, Izu-chama was in love with a girl all along, nya?" Muse quietly asked Izumi.

"Yup!" Izumi said. "I like cool people of all sorts! There's nothing wrong with that."

* * *

"Are you angry about Siegel-san being a girl, Hiro-chama?" Muse asked Hiroko as the two walked side by side into the school courtyard the next day. "You looked kinda upset when we went home yesterday."

"No, no... maybe I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not angry. It'd be rather unfair to Siegel-san - and selfish of me - if I was." said Hiroko, who held a white paper bag in one hand. "Now where are they... oh! Hamasaki-san, Fujimoto-san!"

Shouji and Izumi were conversing beside a nearby tree when Hiroko located them. "Oh, Tsubasa." Izumi said. "What's up?"

"Your argument the other day sort of inspired me." Hiroko said. "I don't know if these will be any good, but I did my best." She reached into the bag, pulling out two containers and handing one each to Izumi and Shouji.

Shouji opened his container. "It's... soba?"

Hiroko smiled. "Pizza-flavored soba, actually. I hope you two enjoy it."

"Whoa, Tsubasa, this looks delicious - and it smells heavenly!" Izumi said. "Don't be a stranger, you two - let's all have lunch together!"

"Oh, can we?" Muse said. "Please, please, please!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Hiroko said, joining Izumi and Shouji. "Why would I say 'no'?" I'_m still not sure how I feel about Hamaski-san_, she mused, as the group enjoyed lunch together, _but if we get to know each other more, maybe that will change. I have to try!_

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW

* * *

Muse: The third Pretty Cure is-

Izumi: Fukuda Yasu? Really? Why would we want an emotionless robot like her on the team?

Hiroko: Fukuda-san isn't a robot!

Muse: That'd be really, really, really cool, though! Especially if she could shoot a beam!

Hiroko and Izumi: _Muse_...

Hiroko: Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "The Elegant Rushing Tiger! An Icy Hero?" Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

_Once upon a time, there was a young man called the Sun Prince, who was known for his great nobility and kindness._

Haruk was seated at his writing desk in his bedroom. His uniform jacket was draped over the back of his chair, leaving the sky blue dress shirt he wore underneath it. He stared at the first, mostly blank sheet of paper, chewing the end of his pencil for a moment before continuing.

_One day, as the Sun Prince was continuing his studies, he happened upon a beautiful princess, with hair as dark as night and skin as white as snow. As soon as he met her, the prince realized that-_

Someone knocked on his door, interrupting Haruki's stream of thought. "Um, come in!" he called.

Yasu entered, holding a blue mug of hot cocoa. Without a word, she sat it down on Haruki's desk, before leaving as silently as she'd arrived.

Haruki watched his sister depart and frowned a bit. Although Yasu had seemed as emotionless as ever, he'd noted the sad expression in her eyes. _Maybe she's thinking about Dad again..._ he thought. He wished she'd just talk to him about it, if that was the case. He certainly talked to _her _when he had problems, he mused as he returned to his writing.

_-he knew that this princess could help him on his quest, to restore his elder sister, the Moon Princess, who had been hit by a terrible curse. She barely spoke and never cried, or smiled, or laughed, and it-_

Haruki dropped his pencil and buried his face in his hands. "It's no good." he muttered. "No one would read a picture book about _this_..."

He pushed the stack of papers aside and went for the cocoa. _But I do want that._ he thought. _I really do want to see Sis smile again._

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

A stout red-haired man with a neat beard was proudly surveying the front of his store, a pizza parlor called Western Paradise. He seemed quite proud of the blue tinsel that now decorated the storefront, although his wife, a woman with a slight build and a head full of frizzy orange hair seemed more confused than anything.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" the man asked, idly adjusting his pink heart-print tie as he did another once-over of his store-front. "This should be enough to make this store the pride of the Nishimura family!"

"Er... it's something." his wife said, tilting her head quizzically. "But Yamato dearest, don't you think hanging tinsel all over the front of the store like this is a bit strange? It's not even Christmas yet."

"Oh, Mei, my honey cake, there's a method to my madness!" Yamato said, giving a hearty laugh. "See, I read that my lucky color was blue, and my father said that hanging tinsel off his storefront always brought in extra customers...so, therefore, blue tinsel will be extraordinarily lucky!"

Mei squealed with delight. "Oh, I see! That's genius, sugar bear!" she said, giving her husband a firm hug. "I wonder what that strange little girl over there thinks. Oh, Miss, don't you think my Yamato is a genius?"

The girl in question, a petite teenage girl who had been loitering a few feet away from the couple jumped at the sound of Mei's voice, her dark gold eyes wide with alarm. "I- I'm not strange at all, netsu!" she said, taking a defensive stance. She had long and wavy dark blue hair and wore a black button-down top, blue jean culottes, and dark brown boots. "I'm just a slightly odd teenage girl! I-I've never even thought about invading Earth, netsu!"

Yamato laughed. "'Invading Earth'? Oh, you kids and your imaginations! But really, what do you think of our lucky business strategy?"

"Huh? Oh... it's great, it's great..." the girl said. She seemed to be focusing on the two figures who were moving in on the storefront while Mei and Yamato's backs were turned. "Y-yeah, you humans' 'lucky objects' are just the best, netsu!"

"Us 'humans'? Oh, I get it, you're pretending to be an alien, right?" Yamato patted the blue-haired girl on the head, oblivious to the annoyed expression that crossed her face. "What a cute little alien! Well, have fun invading Earth, Miss!"

The blue-haired girl grinned. "Oh, I definitely will, netsu! I'll have tons of fun." She skipped off, whistling to herself.

Mei turned around and gave a sharp gasp. "Sugar bear, the tinsel is gone!"

Yamato followed his wife's lead, discovering that the strorefront of Western Paradise was indeed tinsel-free. "What in the world...?"

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **The Elegant Rushing Tiger! An Icy Hero?**

* * *

"Hiro-chama! I hate history! I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it!"

Muse was furiously wiping down some of the desks during clean-up that afternoon. She looked extremely frazzled. Kisu squeaked his own disapproval from his spot in her schoolbag.

"Inoue-san, you don't know that!" Hiroko said. "It was just one pop quiz, and you're new... to this place, so you couldn't help it. If I'd know better, I would have tutored you."

"I hope that offer stands here as well, Tsubasa." said Izumi, who was doing some dusting nearby. "I totally flamed out on that quiz."

"You flame out on _all_ your quizzes, Hamasaki." a nearby boy said. Izumi tossed her rag at him.

"Fine, I'll tutor both of you, then." Hiroko said. "I don't mind."

Kou quickly sidled up to Hiroko. "You're running a tutoring service, Tsubasa? Because if you're in need of any more clients-"

Hiroko pulled away from him. "Sorry... I can only manage with two, Ishii-san."

Before she could go any further, a girl with bright blue eyes and violet hair pulled into twintails flung the door open. She wore a lavender neck ribbon instead of the standard one. "Where is he?" she shouted.

Kou looked up. "I'm right here?"

"No, not you, honey." drawled Shinobu, who had followed the violet-haired girl into the classroom. He was followed by two more girls, one taller with powder-blue hair worn in a forehead-baring style, thick eyebrows, brown eyes, and a sky blue neck ribbon, and the other a shorter dark-complexioned girl with hazel eyes, mid-length ketchup-red hair with swept-aside bangs and an orange neck ribbon. "I know _you're_ not the thief."

Emi froze where she stood and sobbed a little. Hiroko shot Shinobu the dirtiest look she could muster. She wasn't sure if he noticed. She did notice that Shiroka-sensei was doing the exact same thing to the entire group.

"Who are you guys, and why are you so mad?" Muse asked, tilting her head to one side. Kisu followed suit.

The violet-haired girl looked briefly confused by Muse's question, before she nodded in understanding. "Oh, I guess you're a transfer, right? No wonder you don't recognize the esteemed Student Council of Mirai Academy!" The other three were currently combing the classroom. "Anyway, we're in a bit of a pinch right now."

"Yeah, some joker stole our lucky tea set." Shinobu deadpanned. "And we'd really like to get it back, for the Council Pres... I'm sorry, _Madame_ President's sake so she'll stop crying about it."

"You don't have to tell them _that_!" the violet-haired girl said. "But yes, that's exactly it! So, which one of you stole the tea set?"

All of the students exchanged confused glances. The red-haired girl threw up her hands in defeat, having completely combed her part of the classroom. "Nanami, it's not here." she said in somewhat accented Japanese.

"Maybe we should just stop." the blue-haired girl added. "All we've done is get teachers upset at us."

"Yes, you certainly _should_ stop, Takenaka-san." Shiroka-sensei said, turning on the four. She looked ready to toss them out herself. "Misty Oliver, Takenaka Kaoru, Hisakawa Nanami, Hayashi Shinbou – I want you four out of my classroom this instant!"

"Well, we were about to-" Nanami began, before catching sight of the very dirty look that Shiroka-sensei was throwing at her. "I-I mean we'll leave right this instant! Come on, everyone!" The four practically bolted out of the classroom.

After a moment, Emi spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. "M-my parents were robbed today. Papa said that someone st-stole the lucky tinsel off the front of our store..."

"Huh, really?" Kou said. "Someone swiped the hood ornament off my old man's car."

"And someone stole the chimes from our front deck!" said another girl.

"Yeah, and someone took my favorite keychain!" a boy added.

"Hmm, very interesting... and very suspicious." Kou said. "But don't worry, lovely ladies of 2-A!" he announced. "I'm sure that our police force is working to apprehend this vile criminal and bring your precious items back to you as we speak!" The aforementioned 'lovely ladies' didn't even seem to hear him.

Hiroko, Izumi, and Muse exchanged glances. It certainly _did_ sound a little suspicious.

* * *

"Do you think our enemies had anything to do with this?" Hiroko asked as the three headed outside the junior high building and began to make their way to the dorms. "Something about it doesn't sound right."

"Maybe probably, but I don't know." Muse said. "I think the Triumvirate would rather just attack people, not – oof!" She reeled backwards, having accidentally walked into Haruki as she rounded the corner. He reached out and steadied her before she could fall. He had been reading the same book – Grimm's Fairy Tales – as last time.

"Not again!" Haruki bowed apologetically to the three girls. "I'm sorry, I got distracted with Puss in Boots, and... argh, I'm really sorry!"

"Sheesh, Fukuda-kun, this is the fifteenth time you've crashed into someone since this year started, isn't it?" Izumi said.

Haruki looked a bit irked. "It's the sixteenth time, Hamasaki-san. But anyway..." He addressed Hiroko, blushing a little. "Tsubasa-san, please have tea with us... my sister and I... there was a robbery and I thought that maybe you could... we could drink tea and discuss..." He was beet red at this point. "It's okay if you want to say 'no'!"

Hiroko looked a little taken aback. "I don't know if I can help with a robbery, but I can definitely have tea with you, Fukuda-kun." she said. "Do you mind if Inoue-san and Hamasaki-san come along?"

"No, not at all!" Haruki said. He was trying to make himself stop blushing, although he wasn't succeeding at doing so. "I'd be honored to have all your friends over, Tsubasa-san!"

"Tsubasa and I aren't really-" Izumi began, only to cut herself off once she noticed the glance Hiroko shot her way. Instead, she silently followed the others in the direction of Fukuda Manor.

* * *

Yasu stood near the front gardens of the European-style Fukuda Manor, closing her eyes and going back eight years in the past, on this exact day. She had been standing in the same place back then, not as a teenager in a pink military uniform but as a seven-year-old girl in a purple dress, and she'd been surrounded by her family.

"_It's so cute!" Yasu said, clapping her hands as Yui found the perfect spot for the white beckoning cat statue A very young Haruki, clad in red overalls, followed her dutifully. "What's its name, Papa?"_

_Yasu and Haruki's father, a bespectacled man in a wheelchair, smiled warmly. He had red hair and gentle red eyes. "Well, it doesn't have a name, Yasu." he said. "But it does have a special purpose."_

"_What's that?" Yasu asked. She was studying the statue and tried to mimic its pose, to Yui's amusement._

"_Well, a beckoning cat statue brings good luck." her father explained. "So as long as this statue is here, good luck will always flow into this house."_

"_Oh! That's its name – Lucky!" Yasu curtsied to the statue. "Welcome home, Lucky! Bring lots of luck into our house – especially for Papa, okay?"_

The sound of approaching figures – probably her brother and his friends – brought Yasu back to reality, although she didn't bother looking in their direction. She felt a tightness in her chest as she stared at the empty spot where Lucky was supposed to be. "Papa..."

At that moment, Muse saw a flash of silver energy pulse from Yasu and gasped sharply. "Hiro-chama, Izu-chama! She's got an aura! She's the third Pr-" she started, before Hiroko and Izumi loudly shushed her.

Hiroko laughed nervously. "Forgive Inoue-san, she's a little strange."

"Yeah, I dunno where this 'aura' business came from." Izumi added. "She's got quite an imagination, huh?"

Haruki sweatdropped. "I suppose so."

* * *

"So, what did the thieves steal from you two?" Hiroko asked between sips of tea. She and Muse, who had Kisu in her lap, sat side-by-side on a sofa in Fukda Manor's parlor, while each of the Fukuda siblings had taken a different armchair. Izumi, on the other hand, had taken a spot on the floor and was doing stretching exercises.

"It was a cat statue named Lucky." Haruki said. "It was one of the last things Dad gave us, a few months before he..." He grimaced, clearly uncomfortable with finishing that sentence. Hiroko smiled understandingly, relaxing him a bit.

"It looked like this." Yasu said, briefly imitating the statue's pose. Muse began giggling at this, but Yasu didn't seem to notice. "It's important to me, and I want it back."

"Well, don't worry about that, Yasu-chama!" Muse said. Before Hiroko or Izumi could stop her, she added "You're the third Pretty Cure after all, so your new teammates Hiro-chama and Izu-chama have to help you with your problems!"

"Pretty Cure...?" Yasu repeated quizzically.

"Yeah, Pretty Cure!" Muse said. Hiroko and Izumi had both scrambled to attention and were flailing around in an attempt to shut her up, but it wasn't working. "They're amazing superheroines with amazing superpowers, and they'll save the world and save us- ack!"

"Excuse us!" Izumi, who had successfully grabbed Muse said before half-dragging the blue-haired girl to a nearby drawing room and shutting the curtains. Hiroko followed after mouthing an apology to the very puzzled-looking Fukuda siblings.

* * *

"First of all, you just said Fukuda was a Pretty Cure in front of her brother." Izumi said. "At least I was alone! And second of all... Fukuda Yasu? _Really_? You couldn't pick someone else?"

"I didn't pick _anyone_!" Muse said. She put her hands on her hips, trying to look as stern as possible. "Izu-chama, you guys were chosen as Cures several months ago, and Yasu-chama was one of the people who got chosen, and that's just the way it is!"

Izumi sighed. "Look, Muse. I've got the burning passion to be a superheroine, and I guess Tsubasa does too. But Fukuda? Fukuda doesn't have emotions – she doesn't smile, or laugh, or cry or anything! She's incapable of passion. Heck, if she turned out to be a robot, it wouldn't surprise me."

"A... robot?" Muse's eyes lit up, as she imagined a giant pink and silver Mecha-Yasu stomping through Kyukai, while she, Hiroko, and Izumi rode on her shoulder. "That'd be so, so, so cool!"

"That's not what-" Izumi felt a presence behind her and turned to find Yasu, who was standing barely a foot away from them. "When did you get here, Fukuda?"

Yasu didn't answer Izumi's question. "Inoue-san, becoming a 'Pretty Cure' was the 'great purpose' I heard about in my dream, correct?"

"Yup!" Muse said.

Yasu nodded solemnly. "Then I will become a 'Pretty Cure', provided you help me recover Lucky."

"I'm not sure if we can help you Fukuda-san, but... we have to try!" Hiroko said. "Welcome to the team!"

Yasu simply returned to the parlor without a word.

"Like we didn't even exist..." Izumi grumbled. "Feh... at least we might get to kick that thief's ass, if we're lucky. _That _would just rule everything."

"Right..." Hiroko said. "Assuming the culprit is even connected to the Black Triumvirate, that is."

* * *

"I've had enough of this! _Kae_!"

Kae, the blue-haired girl from before stopped in her tracks. She had ended up near Mirai Academy and had been reading a book wrapped in brown paper as she walked. "What is it _now_, Tobi?" She added. "And for the last time, that's 'Boss' to you, netsu!"

Tobi rolled his eyes. "Alrighty – I've had enough of this, _Boss_." He was a slender young man with dark violet, somewhat feathery mid-length hair and orange eyes that glared at Kae behind square-frame glasses. He wore a gray and violet sweater, blue jeans, and black dress shoes, and he stood a full head taller than Kae. "Why do we have to go around robbing people like this when we could have drained their 'hopeful energy' and just gone for it?"

"That'd be too easy, netsu." Kae said. She glanced quickly at the pages of her book and added. "I've done some research on humans – taking away their 'lucky objects' will have a devastating effect on their hopeful energy... and better yet, if you transform those lucky objects into a monster, the luck will be reversed, and then it'll be an extra-evil monster, netsu!" She grinned. "It's genius! I'm a genius!"

Tobi just and snatched the book from Kae's hand. It was a Sentai manga – on the page she had been reading, a busty and scantily clad woman was standing in front of a towering monster explaining "And since I've transformed these lucky objects into a monster, the luck has been reversed, creating an unbelievably evil monster!"

"You're an idiot, osra." Tobi said, tossing the manga back at Kae.

"So I look to other places for inspiration! If you don't like it, you can go back to panhandling, netsu!" Kae said. She was distracted by the sounds of a commotion outside. "Oh, look, Kooyoo's back."

Kooyoo, a taller, muscular young man with scruffy blond hand and brown eyes, who wore a tan sleeveless shirt, ragged blue jeans, and dark red sneakers was running down the low, sloping hill that Mirai Academy sat on, pursued by two very angry-looking high school girls. He carried a sack over his shoulder, which the girls seemed very intent on getting. "Boss, Tobi, help!"

Kae reached into her shirt pocket, pulling out a paper charm and muttering something in an unidentifiable language. The charm flashed purple, and the girls froze in place, giving Kooyoo enough time to escape. As soon as he rejoined the group, Kae leaned up and clocked him over the head. "Stupid! This is why Tobi and me have been doing all the stealing, stupid!"

"I'm real sorry!" Kooyoo said as the trio fled the scene. "I did get that 'lucky notebook', but they were also eating these yummy-looking cakes, and I was so hungry, ukii..."

"Why am I not surprised?" Tobi muttered.

"Meh, it's over now!" Kae said. "We just won't rob from that place anymore... just a few more places around here, and then we'll be set, netsu!" She laughed, a loud 'wahahaha' sound that had Tobi covering his ears. "Then we'll show the humans the strength of the Magnificent Trio!"

* * *

**Eyecatch One: **_Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two: **_Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in in pursuit of Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

Yasu had barely spoken since the group had struck out for Kyukai. She didn't react when Muse turned back into a cat in front of her, and she didn't bat an eye when Kisu had hitched a ride on her shoulder. She remained perfectly stoic.

_Fukuda-san does seem a little cool._ Hiroko thought, observing her as they interrogated people around town. She was stylishly feminine and carried herself with confidence. If only she was a few inches taller and had long, flowing dark hair, then it'd be perfect. _But I wish she'd speak up a bit more._

The three girls and one cat were currently interviewing Yamato and Mei about their theft. "The last thing that happened before I was robbed?" Yamato was saying. "Why, I was asking this girl – real friendly girl, thought she was an alien – about our lucky business strategy. And then, bam! No more tinsel."

"We're not worried, because there was plenty more!" Mei said, indicating the re-tinseled storefront. "But if there were other robberies... oh dear, that's no good at all! Some of that stuff might be irreplaceable!"

"That's what worries us." Hiroko said, glancing at Yasu. "Some of it was really important." The group broke from Mei and Yamato. "We have our pattern." Hiroko said as soon as they'd distanced themselves enough from the couple. "Every single victim was overheard referring to the object as 'lucky' before it was stolen. In a few cases, they spotted a blue-haired girl or a violet-haired man just beforehand."

"So, how do we bait our thieves?" Izumi asked, stretching idly.

"We..." Hiroko froze, glancing at her wrist. "My bracelet!"

"What bracelet, Tsubasa?" Izumi asked.

Hiroko was looking around frantically as Muse sniffed discontentedly at the air. "It's a bangle Chiaki gave me, for good luck... it must have slid off my wrist somehow, back when we were talking to the Nishimura family..."

Someone rushed past them, in the direction of Western Paradise. Muse's ears perked up. "Hiro-chama!"

Hiroko nodded. "Everyone, run!"

Izumi shot past the group, in hot pursuit of the thief, who didn't realize she was being followed. Hiroko quickly fell behind, though... and Yasu was even further behind.

"I don't run." Yasu said matter-of-factly. She followed dutifully behind Hiroko all the same.

* * *

Kae had arrived in a nearby abandoned lot, where Kooyoo and Tobi were waiting. She held Hiroko's bangle triumphantly up to the light. "Another one, netsu!" she said, giggling. "Say, Tobi, is the Dogou ready?"

Tobi withdrew a green seed pod from his pants pocket. "Yes, Boss, the Dogou that you could have summoned as soon as we arrived in this damn city has absorbed enough hopeful energy. Now can we get this over with, osra?"

"But I wanna steal more things, ukii." Kooyoo groused. "It's kinda fun."

"Too bad." Izumi said, casually strolling into the lot. "You won't continue your little crime spree on my watch!" As she spoke, a panting Hiroko caught up with her, followed by a nonplussed Yasu.

"What in the-" Kae frowned. "You're not that 'Purikura' Hinyu-sama mentioned, are you?"

"Yeah, Tsubasa and I are the legendary Pretty Cure!" Izumi said, going for her Puricell. "And who the hell are you?"

Kae nodded to Kooyoo and Tobi, who took position next to her. The three flung off their disguises.

"The double-effective planner, Kae Asjun Dama!" Kae's hair had lengthened and turned electric blue and her eyes had turned yellow. She had chalk-white skin and wore a pale blue kimono-style top with royal blue trim, long detached sleeves, and a blue waist ribbon; royal blue fitted slacks, blue wrist-length gloves, and shin-length pale blue boots with royal blue laces and trim. She sported a violet crystal brooch on her chest.

"The never-ending fighter, Rasa Kooyoo!" Kooyoo had become a shaggy monkey-like creature with brown eyes, a red face and whitish-yellow fur. He wore a sleeveless dark red shirt with ragged sleeves, a light brown scarf, ragged brown cutoff pants, dark red wristbands, and bandages around his feet.

"The razor-sharp planner, Potai Tobi!" Tobi's glasses had vanished, his eyes had become more birdlike, and his hair had lengthened, brightened to violet and was now tied into a ponytail. He had talon-like hands, black wings, and wore a violet coat over a black shirt, a black belt, and dark violet trousers tucked inside pointed black boots.

"Fight for glory, live in the moment!" the three said, posing. "We are the Magnificent Trio!"

Izumi burst out laughing. "Holy crap, Tsubasa, it's worse than I thought! These three... these three think they're a Sentai!" She tried gaining her composure only to start laughing even louder. "Sheesh, you could have at least thrown in a transformation phr... oh my god!" She was doubled over by now.

Hiroko was also laughing. "I'm sorry, everyone!" she told the Trio, particularly Kae, who looked ready to blow her top. "But Hamasaki is right, you are acting like something out of Ultra Sentai!"

Tobi had buried his face in his hands. "I told you the transformation pose was stupid..." he muttered, shooting a dirty look at Kooyoo, who was also laughing along with the Cures.

Yasu simply walked past Hiroko and Izumi, standing directly in front of the Trio. "Return everything you stole."

Kae stared blankly at her, before bursting into laughter of her own. "Or what? What are you gonna do, netsu?"

"If you don't return everything, Pretty Cure will make you return it." Yasu said. "So return it."

"Ooh, a couple of humans are gonna make me return everything, netsu'!" Kae said, rolling her eyes. "I'm so scared!" She nodded to Tobi who pressed the seed pod between his talons, splitting it into three sections, two of which he tossed to Kae and Kooyoo. "Tell ya what– you can have all your stuff back... if you can defeat it!"

"Dogou, come forth!" the three said, tossing their section of the seed pod at the sack Kooyoo had carried. In a flash of light, it turned into a huge octopus monster with tentacles formed from a variety of stolen objects, and the head formed from a white beckoning cat statue.

"Hiroko, Izumi! Transform, nya!" Muse said. Yasu took cover behind a pile of debris.

Both girls nodded, pulling out their Puricells. "Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"

"The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"

The two Cures jumped to attack the octopus monster, but it immediately flung them aside with one of its tentacles. The monster gave a triumphant roar, draining sealing energy from the air as Cure Draco and Cure Kame hit the ground.

"Amazing, netsu!" Kae said, glancing at her manga, and then back to the monster again. "It's a surefire win, just like this book predicted, netsu!"

Cure Draco pulled Cure Kame to her feet, only for Kame to push past her again and launch herself into the air with a handspring, trying to attack the Dogou from above. It smacked her out of the air with one of its tentacles before grabbing her and tossing her back and forth, from tentacle to tentacle.

"Kame!" Cure Draco cried. She started forwards, only to be intercepted by Tobi.

"You're not going anywhere." he said, smirking. "Kooyoo!"

Kooyoo grabbed Draco from behind as Tobi rose into the air and pulled out what looked like an iron fan. "Ready, ukii!" he said, flinging Draco at the waiting Tobi, who had created a razor gale.

Draco gasped, instinctively creating a shield of mist as she was flung into the gale. It still created a harsh impact, flinging her backwards, and back at Kooyoo, who punted her into the air, and into the monster's grasp. It continued roaring and draining sealing energy as it began juggling Draco as well.

"You stupid-" Cure Kame snarled at the monster. She grabbed for Draco's hand as it tossed them around, but the monster seized both of them in its tentacles before she could manage this, smashing both Cures together before letting them fall.

"Sheesh, that's it?" Kae said. She had perched herself on a stack of lumber and read her manga as Pretty Cure suffered at her monster's tentacles. Every time they tried to recover, the Dogou sent them reeling back. "I guess the forces of bad luck really are incredible, netsu!"

"Enough of that, osra." Tobi said, watching the Dogou fling both Cures into a waiting pile of debris.. Both tried to recover, only to collapse from the exertion. "Let's just destroy these two already – this is getting embarrassing to watch."

"I won't allow you to."

Yasu had left her hiding place as Kae prematurely celebrated her victory. "It's deplorable, using Lucky... using all of those things for evil. And I said if you did not return them, Pretty Cure would make you return them."

"Fat lot of good that did." Tobi snorted.

"They will succeed." Yasu said, defiantly approaching the waiting Dogou. She began to glow with silver light. "Because... I am also part of Pretty Cure."

Before the Dogou could strike, there was a flash of silver light, as a silver and violet cellphone-like device hovered down in front of Yasu, who grabbed it. "Transmute!" she said, as she pressed the three buttons on the front in sequence. She began to pulse with visible silver energy. "Pretty Cure Henshin!"

The energy gathered closer to Yasu, covering her in a shining silver aura, as she closed her eyes and transformed. Her glasses vanished as the aura gathered about her body and vanished in a flurry of silver petals, creating a lavender dress with a lacy, crescent-shaped skirt with a dark violet belt, worn over violet bike shorts and silver and lavender striped stockings with short silver boots. She twirled as silver petals swirled around her, creating a silver jacket with puffy sleeves, long showgirl skirt-like edges, and a violet chest bow fastened by a silver gemstone-studded heart brooch, along with silver arm warmers with lavender heart ornaments on the bast. Her hair grew a bit past her shoulders and brightened to cerise as a silver beret with a ribbon appeared in it. She opened her eyes, which had turned dark pink, as she gained silver heart earrings and a silver choker. Finally, her Puricell appeared at her waist, held in a pink and white pouch.

She landed and posed. "The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"

"S-so cool, nya!" Muse said from her hiding spot.

The Dogou roared angrily at Cure Tora, sending several tentacles her way. She nimbly stepped aside, leaving the monster to almost hit Kooyoo instead. He yelped, knocking over Tobi in his attempt to dodge the tentacles. It tried to hit Tora again, only to just miss clobbering Kae instead.

"What in the-" Kae jumped up, stomping her feet angrily. "That's not how this is supposed to happen, netsu!"

Cure Tora gave no indication of having heard Kae. Instead, she dropped into an attacking pose as the tentacles prepared to strike again. "Pretty Cure Lune Flourish!" A flurry of moonflower petals scattered into the air. Cure Tora made a sweeping motion with her hands, and they flew at the Dogou's tentacles, slicing clean through them.

Cure Draco and Cure Kame had struggled to their feet in the interim. Kame wasted no time in hitting the now-helpless monster with a whirling kick, thoroughly stunning it.

"Pretty Cure Illuse Ring!" Cure Draco cried, surrounding the monster with a ring of mist, as it was hit with a damaging ball of water from above. It gave one last bellow, leaving behind the pile of stolen objects and an orb of golden light, which flew to the waiting Kisu.

"Th-this is..." Kae looked a little ill. She hopped off the lumber pile and cowered behind Kooyoo and Tobi, who had just disentangled themselves. "Hit them first! Hit them first!"

"What are you saying?" Tobi demanded.

"Those attacks look like they hurt, netsu!" Kae said. "You're tough manly men, you can take it!"

"No, I can't, ukii!" Kooyoo said. He did look rather terrified of the Cures, especially Tora, who looked like she genuinely was considering going after the three. "Boss, let's just go!"

Kae reached into her sleeves, pulling out a silver staff. "That works too, netsu!" she said. The tip of the staff glowed violet as the three vanished in a flash of violet light.

Cure Tora walked over to the pile of objects and removed Lucky from the pile. "It's safe..." she said quietly, holding the statue close.

"Welcome to the team, Cure Tora!" Muse said, jumping for joy. Kisu celebrating along with her. "We're really, really, really, really glad to have you!"

"Yeah, sure." Cure Kame said. "You were okay, Fukuda."

Cure Tora didn't respond to either compliment. Her mind seemed to be on other things.

Cure Draco tried to ignore Kame's rudeness and surveyed the pile of objects. "I'm still not sure why they stole all of these things." she said, removing her bangle from the pile. She did feel a little bad about using it as bait earlier on, but it seemed unharmed. "The least we can do is return them."

Cure Kame sighed. "I figured that was coming. Well, that's part of being heroes of justice, right Tsubasa?"

"It is!" Cure Draco said. As the three girls transformed back in a flash of light, she added. "Let's get started, Hamasaki-san, Fukuda-san, Muse..." She started forward, only to sway on her feet. "After we rest, I mean."

The figure from last time was balanced on a taller pile of debris. "Very good, you three." she said, before vanishing.

* * *

Lucky was now back where he belonged. Yasu looked as stoic as ever when she finally reinstated him in his spot in front of the mansion that evening, but Haruki could swear he saw a faint smile at the corners of her lips.

Yasu told him all about Pretty Cure, of course. "We don't keep secrets." she had told Hiroko and Izumi earlier that day, when asked how she planned to deal with Muse's earlier outbursts. Thus, she had given Haruki an outline of all that had occurred, finishing with their efforts to return everything that had been stolen.

"Tsubasa-san is a kind girl, and I don't mind being a Pretty Cure with her." Yasu said from her spot on Haruki's bed. "Inoue-san... Muse is also kind, but I'm not sure about Hamasaki-san..." She frowned a little. Haruki, who was seated at his desk and ready with a fresh stack of paper, didn't seem to notice. "Goodnight, Haruki."

"Goodnight, Sis." Haruki said, somewhat absently, as Yasu left. "Rest well." She did look a bit tired - from the sound of it, she'd exerted herself far more than she had in a long while. He stared down at the stack of papers. "So Tsubasa-san and Sis are knights, huh? Maybe I've been going about this all wrong..."

He began to write again.

* * *

"This is so stupid, netsu!" Kae yelled, slamming her milk-filled mug down on the bar countertop. She, Kooyoo, and Tobi had decided to recover at their favorite spot, Club Tsukikage, a bar in the seedier part of the Devil Kingdom. Numerous demons bustled about, some drinking, some chatting amongst themselves, some playing pool, others engrossed with whatever was on television. "Pretty Cure... they're so stupid, netsu!"

"Less stupid than that 'evil plan' of yours, osra." Tobi muttered. He was paging through a dog-eared paperback with English words on the front. "You have no one to blame but yourself."

"C'mon, it was kinda fun, ukii!" Kooyoo said. "I like the part where I got to throw the one in blue in the air... oh, and then earlier, when I got to eat that cake!" He frowned. "I miss that cake already, ukii..."

Kae started to respond to Kooyoo, only to pause awkwardly. "No one asked _you_." she snarled, although no one had actually addressed her. Her two henchmen exchanged knowing glances. "It doesn't matter anyway, netsu!" Kae said. She jumped on a bar stool and posed triumphantly. "Next time we meet those three, we'll kill them until they're dead, netsu!"

"Sit down!" Tobi hissed.

As Kae reluctantly sat back down, another patron, a white-haired young woman clad in black and red leather scrutinized the three. "So those three are his mercenaries?" she muttered. "How pathetic."

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW

* * *

Hiroko: I'm sorry, Muse! This might be impossible...

Muse: Huh? What is, nya?

Hiroko: It seems like we can't be friends, even if we are all Pretty Cure. We're just too different!

Muse: Hiro-chama, don't say those things!

Hiroko: Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "We Are Oil and Water! Steadfast Heroes?" Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


	4. Chapter 4

_Tsubasa Chiaki's bedroom door was open just a crack, allowing her younger sister to eavesdrop on the conversation she was having with their parents' friend, Marina. So far, neither had noticed Hiroko._

"_Then you won't attend Mirai Academy?" Marina was asking._

"_I have other plans, sorry." Chiaki responded. "But if you're so bent on having one of us, you can take Hiroko. She's 'second-best' compared to me, but-"_

_Chiaki paused, probably sensing Hiroko's presence. Hiroko bolted across the hall, taking shelter in her own bedroom. _That's right, isn't it? I am second...

* * *

"Ow!"

Hiroko flinched as her knife sliced her finger, drawing a bit of blood. That's what she got for drifting off while chopping apples.

Muse, who had been chasing Kisu in a circle around the coffee table, froze in her tracks. "Hiro-chama, are you okay, nya?

"Don't worry." Hiroko said. "I just cut my finger a little, that's all."

Muse immediately shifted to her human form and dashed to where Hiroko stood in the kitchen. "Hiro-chama's bleeding!"

"It's nothing seri-" Hiroko noticed that Muse had enveloped her injured hand in her own and was whispering something under her breath. A faint yellow light was pulsing from the other girl's hand. "Muse?"

Muse let go of Hiroko's hand. "Is that better, Hiro-chama?"

Hiroko eyes widened as realized that her finger was completely healed. "You can use magic, Muse?"

"Yup! Everyone in the Hallowed Wellspring can use magic, and mine is healing magic!" Muse said. "So don't worry about getting hurt, Hiro-chama – I'll fix you right up! Now c'mon, let's finish making this so we can meet up with Izu-chama and Yasu-chama!"

Hiroko nodded and resumed preparing the food. She had arranged to spend the afternoon with Izumi and Yasu. She and Muse were both in casual wear: Muse wore the outfit Hiroko had first seen her in, while Hiroko wore a blue long-sleeved blouse, a pale blue chiffon scarf, a knee-length green and tan plaid skirt, dark blue tights, and brown lace-up shoes. "I just hope everything goes well..."

Muse looked a little puzzled. "Why wouldn't it go well, Hiro-chama? You're all Pretty Cure, so I bet you'll become close in no time!"

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

Izumi and Yasu were staring each other down a few paces away from the girls' dorms. Both stopped as soon as soon as they noticed Hiroko and Muse's approach.

"Oh hey, Tsubasa, Muse." Izumi said. She wore a fuchsia varsity jacket, a dark gray and bronze concert T-shirt, a black skirt over black shorts, gray thigh-length stockings and black sneakers. "It was getting lonely without you guys."

"Tsubasa-san, Muse." Yasu said. She wore a lacy violet vest, a dark gray turtleneck, dark blue jeans, and dark violet kitten-heel shoes "It's good to see you."

Both girls glanced at each other briefly and then looked away. Izumi looked clearly annoyed, and Yasu looked a little uneasy.

Hiroko frowned. _We have to try, but..._

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **We Are Oil and Water! Steadfast Heroes?**

* * *

Hinyu surveyed the large crystal globe in the basement of the Black Palace. It was five times his size and rested on an elevated platform in the center of the floor. A smoky and sinister-looking purplish-black liquid filled it, just barely halfway.

"Our revenge on the humans..." Hinyu said, reaching into his coat pocket. He pulled out a cigar and lit it with a snap of his fingers before taking a drag. "A revenge that will take damn forever to carry out, at this rate."

"And you're doing nothing to help."

Hinyu flinched. Tamakushi had appeared beside him, seemingly out of nowhere. He blew an irate smoke ring. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I was just seeing where you ran off to, before I set out." Tamakushi drawled. "I'm surprised – you're so bent on serving the King's every little whim, and yet I'm the one volunteering myself... again."

"I may go out eventually." Hinyu said. "I have more important things to attend to at the moment."

Tamakushi snorted. "Yes, I imagine being the royal bootlicker takes a lot of your energy." If she had a face, she'd be smiling smugly right now. "I suggest hurrying back before His Majesty wakes up from his nap – you know how cranky he'll be if he wakes up and you aren't there." She vanished as silently as she'd appeared.

Hinyu bit down on his cigar. "Do you think I _enjoy_ kissing up to that aging, brainless bastard?" he snarled quietly. He made his way back to the throne room anyway – as loath as he was to admit it, Tamakushi _was_ right about that last part.

* * *

"So, Hiro-chama, Izu-chama, Yasu-chama – let's do something fun together! Then we can go improve you guys' Spark Energy control! How does that sound?"

The three Cures stood near the large water fountain, which featured a statue of a woman balancing a water jar on her head, in Kyukai's main square as Muse stood in front of them, outlining her plans for the day. Izumi had gone out of her way to stand as far from Yasu as possible, while Hiroko was stuck between the two.

"Improve our Spark Energy control?" Hiroko asked, trying very hard to ignore the obvious tension between her fellow Cures. "What do you mean?"

Muse slouched. "I'm not sure." she said. Kisu added a despondent squeak of his own from his spot on her shoulder. "I think Papa said that you can control Spark Energy better if you meditate and focus and stuff or something..."

"You're our mentor." Yasu said. "Shouldn't you know this information?"

Izumi glared at Yasu. "Lay off her, Fukuda. She's only a little kid."

Muse flushed. "No, I'm not!" she said, stomping one foot. "I'm _thirteen years old_! I... I just forgot right now, okay?"

Hiroko walked over to Muse, patting her on the shoulder. "It's fine, it's fine. Let's forget about that and focus on finding something fun to do."

"Great!" Izumi said, joining Hiroko. "As Tsubasa's loyal partner, I already know just the thing!"

Hiroko raised an eyebrow. "'Loyal partner'?"

"Well, yeah – unlike Fukuda there, I've been there for you since we've become Pretty Cure, right?" Izumi said.

Hiroko smiled uncomfortably_. _"I... I suppose, but... Fukuda-san is also my partner. I can like both of you equally."

If Yasu had heard either comment, she gave no indication of it. She simply stared into space.

"I don't think Fukuda feels the same way." Izumi muttered. "Now c'mon, let's go already!"

* * *

The four girls and one mouse had arrived at Kyukai's arcade, the Victory Palace. The sound of games being played and children bustling about filled the air, and the building was illuminated by the purple and gold neon lights up above. There were machines of every variety, as far as the eye could see.

"Welcome to paradise!" Izumi said. "So, Tsubasa, Muse... Fukuda, where to first?"

"To be honest, Hamasaki-san, I'm not really into arcade games." Hiroko said. Yasu said nothing, but she looked like she returned the sentiment.

Izumi sighed. "You're a real girly girl, aren't you, Tsubasa?" Before Hiroko could respond, she added "But it's not a big deal – at least try some _real_ games, then we'll find a crane game for you to play or something." She noticed that the driving game was unoccupied and dashed up to it, taking a seat in one of the units. "Now c'mon, you are gonna love this!"

"Hiro-chama, I wanna try first!" Muse said, starting forward.

"Well, first..." Hiroko turned to Yasu. "Would you like to try, Fukuda-san?" Yasu shook her head.

"Okay, here I go!" Muse handed off Kisu to Hiroko before leaping in the other unit. "So, what do I do, Izu-chama?"

Izumi, on the other hand, was glancing into her wallet and frowning. "That's barely enough for pizza, even." she said. "Hey, Tsubasa, could you spot me some cash?"

"Hamasaki-san, I'm sorry, but I spent a lot of money myself yesterday." Hiroko said. "I only really have enough for dinner."

"Fine, fine." Izumi said, reluctantly abandoning the game. Muse sadly trailed after her. "But we're definitely doing this some other time." she said as they left the building. "Okay, Tsubasa – do you have any ideas?"

Hiroko instead went to Yasu again. "Fukuda-san, where would you like to go?"

"I have no preferences." Yasu said. Izumi shot Hiroko a knowing glance, which Hiroko tried to ignore.

"Ooh, I know!" Muse said. "One of the girls who lives next door said there are some really, really, really, really pretty flower gardens in Kyukai Park! Can we go see those, Hiro-chama? Can we, can we, can we?"

"Er, I don't see why not." Hiroko said.

* * *

"It's so beautiful!" Hiroko said as the group walked down Kyukai Park's main path. She eagerly took in the numerous flowering trees, verdant bushes, and brightly-colored flowers. Muse seemed even more enthralled, darting about to inspect every new piece of flora she saw. Even Yasu, who had probably seen everything here numerous times before, looked interested.

Izumi, on the other hand, just looked bored. "Really? It's just a bunch of plants." She trailed behind Hiroko and Muse for a few moments before adding "Tsubasa, what do you do in your spare time anyway?"

"Cook, watch dramas... sometimes I play a viola." Hiroko said. "Why?"

"So, we don't have much in common, then." Izumi said. "Well, _yet_... you just need to give some of the really fun things a chance."

"But you don't have to give any of _this_ a chance, right?" Yasu asked.

Izumi narrowed her eyes. "Nobody asked you, Fukuda. I can't deal with this soft, boring stuff. Tsubasa understands, don't you, Tsubasa?"

Hiroko bit her lip and glanced at Muse and Kisu, who both looked a little antsy. "Maybe we should find something even better to do."

A woman with brown eyes, brown hair with bangs that mostly covered one of her eyes, and horn-rimmed glasses looked up from studying and taking notes on a nearby tree to watch the Cures pass her by. "Something doesn't seem right."

* * *

Nothing worked.

Sports were out of the question – Yasu didn't like them. Izumi didn't have enough money for the other things she proposed – everything from going to the movies to maybe giving the arcade another try. And if Hiroko wanted to do something – browse through the clothing store and model dresses, visit the free show the local theater was offering – Izumi inevitably complained about it. And aside from pointing out she didn't play sports, Yasu was just... there.

Every rejected venue made Hiroko feel worse and worse, like a slowly overheating teakettle. She tried to stay calm nonetheless, but it was getting more and more difficult.

* * *

Finally, the group had ended up seated at one of the several booths at Western Paradise.

"Now here's something we can all agree on!" Izumi said. "After all, everyone loves pizza!"

Emi, clad in a waitress uniform, nervously approached the table. "H-hello, Tsubasa-san, Hamasaki-san... everyone." she said. "What would you like?"

"Tsubasa and I will have a meat eater's supreme, please! Oh, and two colas." Izumi said. "We'll split the bill – that's okay, right?" Hiroko nodded without thinking.

"And I would like a slice of anchovy pizza, please and thanks." Muse said. "What about you, Yasu-chama?"

"I'll have a salad and a glass of iced tea." Yasu said. As Emi left with their orders, she added "I don't like pizza."

Izumi stared at Yasu as if the latter had just said 'I enjoy kicking kittens.' "You don't like pizza? _How_...?!"

"Everyone has different tastes, Hamasaki-san." Hiroko said nervously.

Izumi still looked miffed. "Well... at least it's more for you and me, right? Fukuda doesn't know what she's missing."

Hiroko assumed everything would get better as soon as Emi actually arrived with the pizzas and drinks. At first, it did: Muse and Kisu looked very happy to try their anchovy pizza, and Izumi happily scarfed down slice after slice of the whole pizza she and Hiroko had bought. Hiroko did her best to enjoy her portion, and even Yasu looked content with her salad.

And then Yasu accidentally overturned her glass, spilling iced tea all over Hiroko's lap.

Izumi immediately snapped to attention. "Fukuda, you clumsy... argh! Apologize to Tsubasa right now!"

"It's really alright!" Hiroko said, patting herself down with some napkins. Muse was eagerly helping. "It's just tea."

"You don't have to lie to make Fukuda feel better, Tsubasa." Izumi said. "It's obvious she doesn't like being around us anyway."

Yasu said nothing. She just stared at her spilled glass.

"Izu-chama, that's now-" Muse started. Kisu squeaked nervously.

"It is true." Izumi said. "She's barely done or said anything this whole time. Why did you even come along. Fukuda?"

"I was asked to." Yasu said. "To be honest... I really don't like excursions like this."

"Then you should have just stayed home." Izumi said. "Sheesh, poor Tsubasa has been trying to include you, even though you're ticking her off too, but you have to go and-"

Hiroko, who had felt more and more like an overheating teakettle this entire time, finally boiled over.

"STOP IT!" she shouted, standing up and slamming her fists on the table. Izumi looked visibly shocked. So did several other patrons. Hiroko didn't seem to notice. "I'm sick of this! All you've done during this entire trip is act like a total jackass... like Fukuda-san doesn't have any feelings! And you act like I... is this how you treat all of your friends, Hamasaki-san? Like they're just copies of you... or like they _have_ to be? Is that how you see me?! _Well_?!"

"Hiro-chama, please stop!"

Hiroko froze at the sound of Muse's voice. She placed her hands over her mouth for a moment, as if she couldn't believe what had come out of it. "I... I'm so sorry!" She rose to her feet, withdrawing her purse and placing the money for the pizza on the table, before fleeing the restaurant. Muse followed behind her.

* * *

Hiroko stood outside, hugging Muse. _Don't cry..._ she thought. _Don't cry..._ Tears were springing to her eyes anyway.

"Look, Tsubasa-" Hiroko looked up to find Izumi and Yasu standing nearby, still distanced from one another.

"It's fine." Hiroko said. "We can still be Pretty Cure without really being friends, right?" She let go of Muse. "I think we should go." she told the other girl.

"I don't care." Izumi told herself, watching the two girls leave. "I don't _need_ Tsubasa, after all. I'm strong enough." She glanced over at Yasu – to her surprise, the older girl actually looked hurt. "Huh? Fukuda, are you..."

Yasu didn't meet her eyes. "I have things to attend to." she said, leaving Izumi behind.

* * *

"My sister, Chiaki was originally meant to be a Pretty Cure, right?" Hiroko asked as she and Muse, now in cat form, watched the sun set. She sat by Kyukai Square's central fountain.

"I don't know, nya." Muse said. "Why should it matter, Hiro-chama?"

Hiroko petted Muse absently. "Chiaki's always been better at stuff like this... at most things, really. She would have had this all under control. But instead I... I didn't say anything when I _should_ have, and then I had to go and snap like that..."

"Hiro-chama..."

Hiroko smiled painfully. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't pity myself like that. Don't worry... I'll be okay."

Muse snuggled up to Hiroko, Kisu following suit. _Hiro-chama is hurt again... but I can't fix her right up this time... _Moments later, Hiroko picked up both mascots and set off for Mirai Academy.

As they left, Tamakushi suddenly materialized besides the fountain. "And here we are." she said, sliding a green seed pod into it. "Feed off of everyone's hope and grow strong, won't you?" She snapped her fingers, making a ball of blue plasma appear beside her. "And you – follow that one." The plasma traveled off, silently trailing behind Hiroko. She created two more like it. "Find the other two." she instructed the spheres, which flitted off.

* * *

Izumi returned to her dorms, kicking the door shut behind her. The sound of guitar music filled the air, which could only mean one enough, Misty Oliver, clad in an orange hoodie and blue jeans, was seated on her bed, playing her electric guitar. Her side of the room was covered in pictures of numerous rock musicians, while Izumi's sported a bulletin board with numerous memos and articles pinned to it, along with a few photos of Shun and herself.

Misty stopped playing as soon as Izumi returned. "Hey there, Izumi!" she said in English, before adding "You look upset. What's wrong?" in Japanese.

Izumi threw herself across the bed, hanging halfway off of it. "Am I a jackass?" she asked.

Misty looked to one side. "Um... you have your moments, Izumi. Sometimes you... get kinda..."

"I thought so." Izumi picked herself up and started doing stretching exercises. "I think I had the mother of all jackass moments today." _Tsubasa did look a little nervous all day, and Fukuda... _She could still remember Yasu's genuinely hurt expression. "Tsubasa and Fukuda probably both hate my guts right now." She didn't notice the sphere of plasma that suddenly appeared and then vanished in her room.

* * *

Yasu was in her pink-themed bedroom, listlessly surveying the evening sky through the telescope in when Haruki arrived. "Hey, Mom's making your favorite, edamame salad!" As she looked at him, he noticed her expression. "Oh..."

"It didn't go well." Yasu said.

Haruki felt his heart sink. He'd been really hopeful when she'd mentioned hanging out with Hiroko and Izumi too. "Er... I'll tell Mom to save you some salad, if you're hungry later." he said, leaving.

_Part of me really did want to connect with them_. Yasu thought, resuming her sky-gazing. _But..._

Another plasma sphere filtered into her room.

* * *

**Eyecatch One**: _Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two: **_Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in pursuing Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

Hiroko woke up to Kisu staring in her face. The mouse kept squeaking insistently and pulling on her nightgown with his small paws.

"What's wrong, Kisu?" Hiroko asked groggily. Her head felt weird, like someone had been feeling around inside it.

Kisu answered with a series of distressed squeaks, before indicating Muse, who was still curled up on Hiroko's bed. Apparently, he'd had trouble rousing the cat. Hiroko easily did that for him.

Muse stretched and yawned. "Oh... mornin', Hiro-chama, Ki..." She paused, listening to Kisu's distraught squeaking, before panicking herself. "Hiro-chama! Hiro-chama, Kisu says that somebody is using a Rage Pod to drain hopeful energy somewhere and soon it's gonna grow into a really big Dogou thatwillbeextrasuperstrongand-"

"Muse, breathe." Hiroko said. She was already getting ready. "We'll take care of it, okay?"

"'We', nya?" Muse asked. "As in you and me or—"

"It'll be better if all of us go." Hiroko said. "I guess we don't have to be friends... and I don't know if Hamasaki-san or Fukuda-san will want anything to do with me, but we'll have to try to work together."

* * *

Izumi had put on her black and pink sweatsuit, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and gone jogging around" Kyukai, hoping to take the events of yesterday off her mind. It wasn't working.

"Okay, that's it!" she said, stopping to rest by a park bench. "I'll at least tell them I'm sorry."

"Who are 'they', Izumi?" Izumi turned to find none other than Shun Siegel, standing across from her. "You seem pretty upset."

"Sieg-kun!" Izumi pulled the older girl into a tight hug. "I... how did you get here?"

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood. But enough about that – I'm more worried about you, Izumi." Shun said, flashing a predatory smile as she accepted Izumi's hug.

* * *

Yasu awoke, dressed herself, and went outside to draw one of the trees near the campus manor. Art always helped her relax.

"Oh, Sis! You're up early." Haruki was standing by one of the trees, wearing his own casual outfit: a red henley shirt with white sleeves, light-wash blue jeans, and red sneakers.

"You too." Yasu said. "Couldn't sleep?"

Haruki frowned. "No... I had a lot on my mind."

"I see." Yasu noticed Haruki's despondent expression and added "Would you like me to draw you?"

"Oh, sure!" Haruki said. He posed as if he was attacking the tree. "Sis, pretend I'm a knight and that's a dragon."

Yasu nodded and opened her sketchbook. She didn't notice the way Haruki glared at her.

* * *

"Do you have any idea where the Rage Pod was planted?" Hiroko asked Muse as the girl and the cat left Mirai's campus.

Muse paused, listening to Kisu's frantic squeaks. "It's at Kyukai Sqaure, nya!" she said. As she ran, the golden choker around her neck began to glow yellow.

"What are you doing?" Hiroko asked.

"Sending a signal to Izu-chama and Yasu-chama's Puricells, nya." Muse said. "Hopefully, they'll respond, Hiro-chama." Hiroko had stopped in her tracks, a few paces outside of the front gates. "Hiro-chama?"

A teenage girl who was slightly taller than Hiroko was standing in front of them. She had long, wavy light brown hair and brown eyes. "Well, look who it is." she said.

"Chiaki!" Hiroko blinked several times – Chiaki still remained. "Why are you here?"

"I was just so worried about you." Chiaki said. "And it does look like something's something's the matter. Are you having trouble making friends?" Hiroko didn't respond. She only backed away from Chiaki a little. "Or... did you have a fight with some other girls? They made you cry, didn't they?" Hiroko nodded absently, even as she brought her guard up. "Poor Hiroko... I should have never let you go to Mirai." She noticed how uneasy Hiroko looked and added. "What's wrong? Aren't you glad to see your big sister?"

"I am." Hiroko said. "But you're not Chiaki. There's no way Chiaki would drop everything and travel here like this, especially with this timing. It's too convenient." She flashed back to the incident at the central auditorium. "You're one of Tamakushi's puppets, aren't you?"

Not-Chiaki smirked. "And what if I am?" Without warning, the doppelganger lashed out, turning its hand into long claws of blue plasma. Before it could hit Hiroko, a sudden chill slammed it from behind. The doppelganger froze solid before shattering into a pile of ice.

A taller figure stood a few yards away from them, holding what looked like a pistol of some sort. She wore a luminescent bronze dress, which vaguely resembled Hiroko's Cure outfit. The bronze light faded as the figure approached Hiroko, who instantly recognized her rescuer.

"Marina-san!"

Marina, the bespectacled woman from the park, stood before them "The one and only." she said.

Hiroko was trying to process this new information. "You're the one who saved us at Starlight Speedway, aren't you? And... are you a Pretty Cure, Marina-san?"

"Yes and I _was_." Marina said. She stopped Hiroko's incoming questions with a raised hand. "I'll explain everything some other time. Right now, you need to focus on taking out that Dogou."

"But Hamasaki-san and Fukuda-san are -" Hiroko started. "Marina-san, can't you help me?"

Marina looked a little upset. "I can't, Hiroko. But I'm sure the other two will be there for you, just like my own teammates were. Now, go!" She said the last two words in a way that had Hiroko and Muse running at full pace towards Kyukai square without even considering more questions.

* * *

"I'm disappointed in Hiroko." Shun said. The two girls were walking side-by-side around Kyukai Park. "She seemed more civil when I met her."

"Well... I kind of had it coming." Izumi said. "Tsubasa wouldn't have blown up like that if I didn't treat her and Fukuda the way I did."

"It still doesn't sound like someone I'd want as a teammate." Shun said. She'd fallen a bit behind Izumi, who didn't seem to notice. "Really, neither of them do. Cure Kame is strong enough on her own, isn't she?" As she said this, her hands glowed blue as she prepared to attack.

"I've considered that, but-" Before Shun could strike, Izumi turned around. "Hey, wait a sec... Sieg-kun, how do you know I'm Cure Kame?"

"Oh... I figured you were similar enough." Shun said, laughing a bit. "See, after I saw Cure Kame's fight-"

"No, you didn't." Izumi said. "You admitted you were out cold back then, which means you're lying. And the real Sieg-kun always pulls her left earlobe when she lies. And..." She noticed an odd silver ring around Shun's gray irises. "The real Sieg-kun does _not_ have eyes like that!" She shoved Not-Shun away from her. "You're not her at all!"

Not-Shun responded by attempting to grab Izumi, who dodged the blow, countering with a sharp punch to the doppelganger's ribs and then a hard leaping kick to its stomach. The doppelganger hit the ground, vanishing into blue light.

As Izumi caught her breath, her Puricell went off.

* * *

"I'm sorry they hurt you, Sis. But don't worry," Haruki said. Yasu was completely engrossed in her work and didn't seem to notice him step away from the tree and approach her, hands transforming into glowing blue claws. "I'll always be more of a friend to you than they could ever be."

Yasu slammed the sketchbook shut. "You're not Haruki."

Haruki looked hurt. "Sis, what are you saying?!"

"My brother wants me to have friends." Yasu said, standing up to confront Not-Haruki. "He was so happy when I said I would spend the afternoon with Tsubasa-san and Hamasaki-san. He would never say those things."

Not-Haruki started forward. Yasu beaned him over the head with her sketchbook, as hard as she possibly could. He stumbled backwards, knocking heavily into the tree and vanishing in a flash of blue light, just as Yasu's Puricell went off.

* * *

Numerous people around Kyukai Square had already collapsed from the energy drain radiating from the statue. Tamakushi surveyed the fallout from her perch atop the fountain. "Yes, that's it. Drain their hopeful energy more and more..." She winced, feeling another headache coming on. That could only mean one thing – someone had destroyed the puppets she'd sent out.

"Tamakushi!" Hiroko and Muse rushed in, the former with her Puricell readied.

"Oh, it's you." Tamakushi didn't budge. "I suppose you dealt with that puppet of mine, then. But... those other two are-"

"Right here!"

Izumi ran in from one direction, Yasu entered from the other. Both girls took their places beside Hiroko.

"Tamakushi, you suck at creating evil clones." Izumi said. "You could at least make them more convincing... and more durable."

"It's unforgivable... imitating our loved ones like that." Yasu said.

"You said it, Fukuda!" Izumi pointed an accusing finger at Tamakushi. "You've crossed the line!"

Hiroko looked from Izumi to Yasu and back again. "Guys... you came after all!"

"Muse summoned us." Yasu said. "But... I also wanted to help."

"We can always make up over a nice fight, right?" Izumi asked.

"Oh, give me a break." Tamakushi said, leaping off the fountain. "Dogou, come forth!" In a flash of purplish-black light, the fountain had become a towering, monstrous version of the woman with the water jar. As before, it opened its mouth with a low roar and began draining sealing energy.

"Everyone! Transform, nya!" Muse shouted.

Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu readied their Puricells. "Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"

"The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"

"The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"

"Live in tomorrow, fight for today!" The Cure trio said, posing. "We are Pretty Cure!"

The Dogou removed the jar from its head, angling it at the three Cures. The trio dodges before it could hit them with a highly pressurized stream of water. As Cure Draco and Cure Tora recovered Cure Kame rushed past them, trying to get at the Dogou. It countered by sending another shot of water at her. She managed to dodge the first shot, but couldn't quite manage with the second. Luckily, Cure Draco appeared in front of her, creating a small mist barrier. Draco was still hit by the water, but she managed to deflect the worst of it.

"Draco!" Kame looked pretty rattled. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Cure Draco said. The three Cures weaved around in front of the Dogou, trying their best to strike it before it could start absorbing more sealing energy while avoiding being blasted by the water jar. "Kame... Tora... I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Why are you apologizing?" Cure Kame asked, backflipping away from a blast of water sent in her direction. "I started it, didn't I?"

"We'll talk about it later, Draco, Kame." Cure Tora said, gracefully dodging another salvo of water. "Right now, we need to take care of this one."

Cure Draco nodded, as the three Cures leaped back and regrouped. "If we combine our powers, we should be able to manage."

Tamakushi, who was perched on a nearby tree, groaned. She was holding her head in her hands, as if she was suffering a severe headache. "People who make up this easily piss me off! Dogou!"

The Dogou gave another roar, readying its water jar and firing wildly at the group. As it did that, Cure Tora ran behind it, while Draco and Kame remained to draw its attacks.

"You'll have to try harder than that!" Cure Kame yelled at the Dogou. "Come and get me!"

"Pretty Cure Lune Flourish!" As the Dogou prepared to hit Cure Kame, Cure Tora unleashed her attack, battering the Dogou's back with a flurry of razor moonflower petals. It turned to try and grab its other assailant, but Tora evaded the attempt and ran between its legs and towards her teammates. "Draco!"

Cure Draco nodded, readying her attack. "Pretty Cure Illuse Ring!"

The illusory ring of mist surrounded the Dogou, clouding its vision. It roared ineffectually, trying to futilely to hit the Cures, only to be stunned at the ball of water hit it from above. It groaned, clearly dazed, as the three Cures hit it with a triple kick.

"Go Pretty Cure, go!" Muse cheered. Kisu cheered right along with her.

"Damn it!" Tamakushi hissed, clutching her head in pain.

"Okay!" Cure Kame said, readying her attack. "Pretty Cure Megaton Shot!" The sphere of black energy hit the Dogou, which gave one final roar before vanishing, leaving behind the water fountain and an orb of gold energy, which floated over to Kisu.

"Tch." Tamakushi tried her best to seem nonplussed, despite obviously being in pain. "This isn't the end, Pretty Cure." She vanished in a flash of blue light.

"Well, that just ruled everything!" Cure Kame said. She paused, waiting for her teammates' reactions. "Didn't it?"

Cure Draco and Cure Tora exchanged glances. "It did." Draco said, becoming Hiroko again in a flash of light. As the others reverted, she added "Could you please come to my dorm for a minute? I have something to give you,"

* * *

Izumi, Yasu, and Muse sat at the endtable, watching Hiroko bustle about the kitchen. Finally, she returned with four plates, each of which sported some sort of apple-based dessert, along with some napkins and forks.

"It's an apple charlotte." Hiroko said. "Well, a modified version. I spent a lot of my money on some of the ingredients, so I couldn't really do much yesterday. I should have told you guys earlier, but I wanted to keep this a surprise."

"It was a really, really, really hard surprise to keep, too." Muse said, between bites of apple charlotte. She handed pieces to Kisu.

Yasu gingerly took a bite of her own serving. "Tsubasa-san, this is delicious." she said. She noticed Izumi was almost finished with hers. "Hamasaki-san, did you just...?"

"Hey, I was hungry!" Izumi said between bites of apple charlotte. "Hey guys... don't you think it's strange to be on last-name basis if we're gonna be a team?"

"Perhaps." Yasu said. "If you want me to address you two as 'Hiroko-san' and 'Izumi-san' instead, I don't mind."

"Please, don't use '-san'." Hiroko said, serving another piece of apple charlotte to Izumi. "We don't have to be that formal with each other."

Yasu looked a little taken aback. "Alright... Hiroko, Izumi."

"That's better." Izumi said. "Look, Hiroko, Yasu, about yesterday-"

Hiroko cut her off with a raised hand. "If you're sorry about your actions, prove it by working on your behavior day by day. That's what Chiaki always told me... and that's what I plan to do to."

"Oh, we'll all do that." Izumi said. "We'll bond, learn each other's weak points, overcome those, and then turn into an unstoppable fighting force. I've seen enough kids' shows to know where this is going."

Yasu looked a little disquieted, for just a moment. "I suppose we will..."

As the three Cures, their mentor, and her "baby brother" finished the dessert, Hiroko found her mind drifting off to her encounter with Marina. _I wonder... was Marina-san one of the Dream Lady's teammates? And was she arranging for Chiaki... or me to become a Pretty Cure all along?_

And then Izumi snapped her out of her thoughts by asking "Say, Yasu – would you at least give _dessert_ pizza a chance?"

"Izumi!" Hiroko shouted, giving the other girl a playful shove. Muse giggled while Yasu gave a small smile of her own. Hiroko was still concerned about Marina, the past Pretty Cures, her suspicions about Chiaki probably being correct... but right now, surrounded by good food and three potential good friends, it didn't seem to matter as much.

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW

* * *

Izumi: Mirai Academy's annual Cake Off is here!

Muse: 'Cake Off'? Is that where you fly cakes?

Izumi: No, no! It's a cake-making contest that anyone can enter. And this time, I'm entering the challenge!

Yasu: Izumi, you said you hated cooking.

Izumi: W-well... I have my own reasons for entering this time! That's all you guys need to know!

Hiroko: Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "Baking the Recipe for Success!" Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


	5. Chapter 5

"Cake-Off? Hiro-chama, Izu-chama, what's that?"

Muse was indicating the large poster plastered outside Mirai Academy's gym. A teenage girl was posing happily with a cake while a large splash of text announced the triumphant return of Kyukai's annual Cake-Off, which would take place this week.

"Oh, that thing?" Izumi said. "It's this thing they hold at Kyukai Hall every year, for 'young patissiers' or something. You can team up with a friend and enter a cake you baked yourselves. There's supposed to be this nice cash prize if you win."

"Oh, cool!" Muse said. "I thought it was something where you flew cakes. Like 'take off, cakes!'" She posed dramatically, causing Hiroko to laugh. "But teaming up to bake cakes is also really, really, really cool!"

"Hiroko, you should enter with Muse." Izumi said. "I've seen how well you cook – you'd totally kick ass at that contest!"

"Thanks, but..." Hiroko shook her head. "I can't imagine cooking just to win a contest. I'd rather just cook for others' sake."

"And Kisu and I are better at eating cakes than making them." Muse said. Kisu squeaked in agreement.

Izumi sighed. "Sheesh, Hiroko, you can't be a strong cook if you're just baking for others all the time. Live a little!" The morning bells went off, and the three girls set off for the junior high building.

"Then you should enter, Izu-chama!" Muse said.

Izumi stopped in her tracks and started laughing. After a moment, she said "Muse, no way – I hate cooking! You guys remember the fire alarms going off a day ago?" Hiroko and Muse nodded in unison. "That was me trying to make instant ramen. It's like that when I try to make... anything, really. Misty says I could probably set cornflakes on fire just by pouring them."

Muse looked rather let down. "That means 'no', doesn't it?"

"Of course!" Izumi said. "I'm not meant for that kind of stuff, and I never will be!"

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

Muse wanted everyone to start training their Spark Energy control after school, since the last attempt hadn't gone over so well. Yasu had suggested that they use the gardens behind Fukuda Manor for that. "No one will disturb us." she'd told the others. she'd told the others. "I know – I use it as a meditation spot."

Thus, the three members of Pretty Cure were currently seated in a meditative position as Muse, now in cat form supervised them. Kisu stood next to her, trying to look as authoritative as possible.

"Now, visualize your Spark Energy, nya!" Muse told the group. "Imagine a spark of power inside of you, and bring that out, bit by bit, nya."

Hiroko took a deep breath and tried to visualize a core of sparking blue energy inside of her. She could hear her teammates breathing deeply as well. She focused on that core of energy and followed Muse's directions, slowly pulling it out, a little at a time...

"Holy crap – Hiroko's glowing!"

Hiroko's concentration shattered, and her eyes snapped open. Izumi was pointing at her, wide-eyed. "Izumi, you're supposed to meditate with your eyes closed!" She glanced at Muse. "Was I really glowing?"

"Just a bit, nya." Muse said. "Actually, you all were glowing a little – that's good, nya!"

"That's kind of freaky..." Izumi said. Yasu looked like she returned that sentiment. Just then, Izumi's cell phone went off. "Hold on a sec." she told the other girls, springing to her feet and retrieving her phone. An odd expression crossed her face as she saw the number.

"Izu-chama, what's wrong, nya?" Muse asked.

"Er... it's nothing!" Izumi said. She hastily re-entered Fukuda Manor through the back door.

A few moments later, Yasu wordlessly rose to her feet and followed Izumi inside.

* * *

Izumi was seated on the parlor couch, talking on her cell phone. "Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine." she told whoever was on the other end. "How are you guys doing?" She paused, and her face fell a bit. "Oh... well, I'm sure that'll change when we see each other again!" Another pause. "No, that's not true – I wanna see _both_ of you!"

Yasu, who was observing Izumi from a yard away, showed the slightest hint of concern on her face as Izumi continued to carry on.

"In fact!" Izumi was now telling the other person, "In fact, there's definitely something you can look forward to – I've entered Kyukai's annual Cake-Off! Doesn't that just rule everything?"

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **Baking the Recipe for Success!**

* * *

"You're really entering that contest, Izumi-san?"

Haruki had joined the four girls in the parlor. Muse had curled up in his chair, so he'd resorted to standing near it. Kisu was perched on Haruki's shoulder, and he occasionally petted the mouse. Izumi and Hiroko sat side-by-side on the sofa, while Yasu sat on her chair, drawing something in her sketchbook.

"And why are you entering now, Izumi?" Hiroko asked the other girl. "What happened to 'I hate cooking'?"

"I still hate cooking." Izumi said. "I just... see, my folks are coming over on the same day as the Cake-Off, so I figured I could impress them by entering a competition like this. Well, that, and you put your feelings into cooking, right? So if I bake a cake for their sake, they'll get what I'm feeling."

"Why do they need to do that, nya?" Muse asked.

Izumi looked a little uncomfortable. "They argue all the time, and 'please stop fighting' doesn't work with them. So I've gotta distract them with this stuff, and then make them listen to me through... cooking." She slouched in defeat, but sat back up a few seconds later, apparently fully recovered. "But hey, if I treat it like another competition, it'll be easy! And think of that cash prize..." Izumi imagined herself at Western Paradise, with a stack of pizzas in front of her.

"Izumi, if you don't like cooking, you can always find some other way to impress your parents, can't you?" Hiroko said.

"Maybe." Izumi said. "But I already told them I was entering this thing, so I can't turn back now."

"I suppose this makes us rivals, then, Izumi-san." Haruki said.

"We're entering too." Yasu added, without looking up from her sketchbook. "Just like last year."

"When it comes to cake-making, there are things that Sis is good at, like decorating, and things I'm good at, like measuring ingredients." Haruki said. "Therefore... the two of us are a single patisser!" He struck a somewhat corny pose.

Yasu adjusted her glasses. "_Haruki_..." Her brother mouthed an apology. At the same moment, her sketchbook fell forward, allowing the others to see what she'd been drawing.

"Isn't that one of the English teachers at Mirai? Alan Bell, right?" Hiroko asked.

Yasu snapped her sketchbook shut. "No, it's not."

"_Really_." Izumi said. A cold glare from Yasu apparently convinced her not to push the issue any further. "Well, two-in-one patissier," she told the siblings "Don't expect me to go easy on you – or anyone!"

Hiroko looked aside and sighed inwardly. She didn't like where this was going at all.

* * *

Seimono had returned from an audience with King Aseimera some time ago. He didn't say anything about it when he returned to his personal chambers, instead directing his attentions to his vassal, who had waited attentively for him the entire time.

"Let me see your arm, Kamryou." Kamryou nodded hesitantly and held out their arm, which sported several new sets of stitches. Seimono examined said arm for a moment before letting it go, apparently satisfied. "The new stitches are holding up well. That's a relief. With hands this large, I sometimes doubt my sewing abilities."

"All my fault..." Kamryou said, looking down at the ground. Seimono had spent a good while with a needle and thread, carefully restoring the damage... whoever that was had inflicted on them. It wasn't the first time he'd had to do something like this either. "Seimono-sama had to..."

"I don't mind." Seimono said. "However, please try not to be hurt like that on our next excursion."

"Next excursion?" Kamryou's eyes flitted to the prominent scar on Seimono's chest. "But Seimono-sama might be- !"

"I saw us fighting in a hall with cakes." Seimono said. "Therefore, we will attack that place. That is final." He noticed how Kamryou was staring at his scar and added "Our destiny is fixed... and there is a price to pay for defying it."

* * *

Hiroko, who was carrying a bag of cake-making supplies, knocked on Izumi's door the next day. The other girl, who was currently engaged in a phone conversation, opened the door and let Hiroko in. "Yes, I want to do this, Shouji." she said. I'm not trying to prove I'm a girl after all! What are you even talking about?!" Another pause. "Shouji, shut up." She snapped her cell phone shut. "Who the hell asked him?" she said, crossing her arms. "Sometimes, I wonder why I adopted him as my brother."

"You aren't related?" Hiroko asked. She set the supplies down on the kitchen table.

"Nah, we just grew up together – we call each other brother and sister 'cause we can't see each other any other way." Izumi said. "If only I'd known what an asshole I was adopting when I was younger."

"At least you were able to choose your sibling." Hiroko said. She noticed that Izumi had set out a cake pan, cooking spray, and a few other things, but hadn't gone much farther. "Since Yasu and Haruki are teaming up, don't you think we should be a team as well? You said you'd never made a cake before, so I should help you with this one. How about it?"

Izumi shook her head. "Hiroko, remember what I told you? A truly strong person focuses on themselves! I can't have anyone's help, not even yours."

"You lit instant ramen on fire." Hiroko said. "I think you need my help."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Izumi said. "You can go shopping with me and help pick out ingredients, but that's it – I'll enter alone, and I'll cook alone. I'm tough enough to manage that."

Now it was Hiroko's turn to slouch a bit in defeat. "Alright..."

* * *

"So, where is Muse, anyway?" Izumi asked Hiroko. The two of them were browsing the shelves of Hopefield Supermarket for everything Izumi needed. She'd wanted to make a carrot cake, her parents' favorite and something that Hiroko definitely had experience with.

"She's with Yasu and Haruki." Hiroko said. "She wanted to watch them make their cake... well, that, and Haruki promised her and Kisu that they could help themselves to all the leftover batter and chocolate chips. I hope she doesn't make herself sick."

"Huh... I wish I was there right now..." Izumi said. She looked in her shopping cart. "Hmm... what else do we need?"

"We have everything but the carrots." Hiroko said. Izumi took off down the aisle, letting the shopping cart propel her forward. "Wait, Izumi!" she yelled, taking off after the other girl.

Luckily, Izumi didn't actually hit anyone in her dash to the produce section. She made a full stop right before the carrots and began to examine them. "How do I know which ones to buy?" she asked Hiroko, who had just caught up with her.

"That's easy." Hiroko said. "You want to choose ones with a good, smooth form and a hearty orange color to them."

"Oh... right." Izumi said, selecting some sufficiently hearty-looking carrots. "I knew that..."

"Making dinner, you two?"

Izumi and Hiroko jumped, turning to find Marina, who was carrying a shopping basket full of vegetables. "Marina-san!" Hiroko said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm running an emergency dinner errand." Marina said. "I'm cooking dinner for my family, but we were out of shallots." She noticed how Izumi was staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"You're the... you were in my dream!" Izumi gasped. "The weird glowing bronze lady who kept talking about destiny!"

"Yes, that was me." Marina said, smiling. "It's nice to speak with you when you aren't panicking, Izumi."

"So, the Dream Lady and... whoever was talking to Yasu, they were your teammates?" Hiroko asked, ignoring Izumi's disgruntled ramblings.

"Right, right." Marina said. "And in case you were wondering, yes, I arranged for you to be in Mirai Academy too. All perfectly arranged~" She glanced at the group's shopping cart and then at her watch. "Hmm... I suppose you two are teaming up for the Cake-Off. I hope you do well, and I hope to see you again."

"Wait, Marina-san!" Hiroko said. "There's something I need to know, about Chiaki-"

"I'd love to talk, but I'm needed over at my parents' house." Marina said. She bowed quickly and added "I apologize for running out on you again, Hiroko, and good luck at the competition!"

"You two know each other?" Izumi asked, staring after the departing Marina.

"She's a family friend." Hiroko said, "And a former Pretty Cure, apparently. She even arranged for Chiaki... well, Chiaki and then me to become Cure Draco."

"So, that's what she meant by 'my teammates', huh." Izumi said. "Muse has some explaining to do about these other Pretty Cures."

The two girls made their way to the checkout. As they made their purchases, Hiroko said "Are you sure you want to do this alone? You don't have to make yourself miserable just to prove a point to someone."

"Hiroko, you worry too much." Izumi said. "I know exactly what I'm doing!"

* * *

Izumi stared at the recipe she'd printed out at the campus library, then to the mixing bowl and the ingredients in front of her, then to the oven, then to the recipe again. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing..."

She glanced over at her cell phone. "Hiroko is probably still up-" She smacked herself on the forehead. "No! No, I said I'd work alone! And besides..."

_A nine-year-old Izumi, wearing a pink jacket over her gymnastics leotard, rang the front doorbell of her house. A woman with short blond hair opened the door. "Izumi!" she said, ushering the girl inside. "I thought you were supposed to be at practice!"_

"_I was." Izumi said. "But it's really not long of a walk from practice to our house, so I just decided to take myself home."_

"_Do you hear this, Riku?" the blond woman said, turning to the taller, black-haired man who had just joined her. "Because you didn't pick her up, our daughter walked home all by herself! What do you have to say?"_

"_Umi, I told you I had work to take care of!" Riku shot back. "You were supposed to be the one picking up Izumi – what's your excuse?"_

"_Mom, Dad, it's fine!" Izumi said. "I'm a big girl... I'm a strong girl – I can walk home, and I can take myself to practice too! I really don't need your help!"_

"_Izumi, you really don't have to say that, just to make your father feel better." Umi said. _

"_But I mean it!" Izumi shot back. She noticed the contemptuous looks her parents were shooting at her and shot upstairs. _I'll prove it – I'll prove I'm a strong person who isn't a burden on anyone!

"Just watch me, Mom, Dad – Hiroko too!" Izumi said. "I've got this!"

She went to work, putting together the ingredients, pre-heating the oven, greasing the pan, going at it as if she was fighting in a martial arts competition. As she worked, Misty walked in.

"What the-" the other girl started in English. "Izumi, are you _cooking_?!" she asked in Japanese.

"Yeah." Izumi said. She was too engrossed in her work to see the terrified expression that crossed Misty's face or how the other girl dived for her sneakers and fled the dorm room as fast as her feet could carry her.

* * *

**Eyecatch One**: _Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two: **_Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in pursuing Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

The Cake-Off was being held in Kyukai Hall the next afternoon. Numerous tables, most staffed by students in either Mirai or Kyukai Public uniforms, lined the room, and people flitted about, surveying everyone's cake. Izumi's table was still empty, Hiroko noted, and from the look of it, she was one of the only people who had entered alone.

Muse was currently fawning over the Fukuda siblings' cake. Kisu, who rode on her shoulder, looked similarly enthralled. "It's so, so, so pretty!" she said. The two had prepared an beautiful-looking eclipse-themed cake, with one side shaped like a blue crescent moon and the other like an orange sun, complete with radiating rays. It looked more like a realistic painting than a cake. "Yasu-chama, you're amazing!"

"I'm in the Art Club, so I'm good at decorating." Yasu said. "Even then, half of the credit for this goes to Haruki."

"You're the two-in-one patissier, after all, right?" Hiroko said. Yasu nodded, expressionless.

"Where is Haru-chama anyway?" Muse asked.

"His kendo practice ran late." Yasu said. "He'll be here soon enough."

Izumi burst in, carrying her cake in her arms. "Finally!" she gasped. She found her table and sat the covered cake down, still gasping for breath.

"Izumi!" Hiroko said, rushing over to the other girl. "You don't look well."

"I don't feel well." Indeed, Izumi looked rather frazzled. "But hey, I finished after all!" She unveiled her cake, which was shaped like a rabbit's face and covered in somewhat uneven buttercream frosting. Izumi had given the rabbit rather crooked features with icing and decorated its bowtie with purple and black candies – it was amateurish-looking, but not terrible.

"Is that seriously supposed to be a rabbit?" Fujimoto Shouji had sidled up to the table while Hiroko was examining Izumi's cake.

"Shouji!" Izumi said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to sample the cakes after the judging's over, obviously." Shouji said. "I guess I was a bit curious about my idiot sister would try entering into this contest too. You didn't let me down at all - just look at what... that thing is up against!"

Izumi looked around the room. Yasu had that fancy eclipse cake, a pair of Kyukai Public students had a cake shaped like a series of stacked cubes, another one had a cake with white frosting, decorated with beautiful icing roses, the Student Council president and the vice president, Nanami and Kaoru, had a cake shaped like a half-opened cosmetics bag, complete with candy cosmetics... and another pair of Mirai students had a cake shaped like a rabbit, with fur made of coconuts and carrot made of fondant. And then there was her... horribly amateurish excuse for a cake, which probably wouldn't taste very good, compared to everyone else's...

"So what?" Izumi said. She'd still flushed a bit in embarrassment. "I put all of my effort into this cake, and I did it myself. That counts for something!"

"You should have asked the genius cook here for help." Shouji said, indicating Hiroko. "But I understand, you need your stupid 'I've gotta do it alone!" schtick, right?"

"Is this really necessary?" Hiroko asked. She looked far from amused at Shouji right now.

"I do it because I care." Shouji said. "It's the only way she'll listen." He left, a self-satisfied smile on his face. Izumi pulled down one of her lower eyelids and stuck her tongue out at him.

Muse, meanwhile, was wandering around the room, looking at everyone's cakes. She didn't know how anyone could judge one as being better than the other – they all looked good, even Izumi's! "Even if Izu-chama or Yasu-chama and Haru-chama don't win, there's still lots of sweet cake to try!" Muse said. "Isn't that right, Kisu?" The mouse no longer sat on her shoulder. "Kisu?"

Muse looked frantically around the room, until she finally spotted Kisu, who had located a cherry and chocolate cake and was preparing to bury his face into it. She rushed forward to grab the mouse. He saw her and jumped off the table, skittering off somewhere else.

"What do you think you're doing?" the rather irritated-looking Kyukai Public student who'd made the cake demanded.

"Uh... looking for my baby brother... that's all." Muse said, backing away slowly. She resumed her search, finally locating Kisu by Nanami and Kaoru's cosmetics cake. He had grabbed the candy lipstick in his small paws and was about to take a big bite out of it. Luckily, Muse managed to grab him and pull the candy lipstick out of his paws before he could manage this.

"Inoue-san!" Kaoru said. "Are you trying to steal our decorations?"

"No!" Muse squeaked. She quickly replaced the candy lipstick. "I was just retrieving my baby brother, see?" She indicated the very still Kisu, who was now being half-held, half-restrained in her arms.

"Inoue-san, please don't blame things on your dolls." Kaoru said. "It's not very mature."

"Don't listen to my wife." Nanami said, grinning. "I think your childishness is cute, Inoue-san!" She noticed Kaoru's annoyed expression and added "But yeah, don't eat the decorations until they've been judged, please!"

"Got it, got it..." Muse said. She looked at the clock on the wall. "I hope Haru-chama is here on time..."

* * *

"Oh my god..." Haruki groused, noticing the time on his cell phone's clock as he hurried out of the practice room at the gym. "I didn't think we were going to drag on this long!" He ducked into the locker room and emerged moments later, having exchanged his gray and black kendo uniform for his casual clothing. He hurriedly dashed out of Mirai Academy's athletics building and outside the school gate, mentally praying that he'd be there on time.

Haruki noticed two rather suspicious-looking strangers as he finally arrived on Main Street. One was an unusually tall dark-skinned man, the other was a much smaller white-haired girl... boy... person. The two paused to converse among themselves, and Haruki decided to get as close to them as he actually could, trying to ignore how much his heart was pounding all the while.

"How much further, Seimono-sama?" the androgynous figure was asking.

"Just a bit more, Kamryou." the very tall man, Seimono responded. "We'll be one step closer to the King's goal, soon enough."

"And then we'll destroy Pretty Cure?" Kamryou asked.

"Perhaps." Seimono said. "Again, I saw nothing like that in my last vision."

Haruki's eyes widened, as his heart began to beat just a bit faster. As Seimono and Kamryou departed, he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed Yasu's number.

* * *

Hamasaki Umi had arrived a few minutes ago. She had joined most of the other spectators as the emcee began the contest, flashing a tense smile to the equally tense Izumi. Her husband, Riku, was absent, however. Izumi stared down at her feet, feeling her heart sink a bit. _This always happens..._

"Your cakes will be judged in three areas!" the emcee told the contestants. "Creativity, composition, and cooking. We're looking for a cake that shows artistic sense and tastes as great as it looks!"

Yasu's cell phone went off at that moment. She reached into her purse and withdrew it, cupping her hand around the receiver so she wouldn't disturb anyone. "Haruki? Where are you?" she said.

"Well, I was on my way to Kyuaki Hall!" Haruki responded. "But Sis... then I spotted two other people who were also heading there – this duo called Seimono and Kamryou! They were talking about attacking Pretty Cure!"

Yasu nodded and hung up. "Hiroko!" she whispered harshly. Hiroko, who was standing nearby, glanced in her direction. 'There's an incoming attack'. Yasu mouthed.

Hiroko wasn't the best lip-reader, but she'd caught the gist of it. 'Got it' she mouthed back. She tapped Muse on the shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"Really?" Muse said, just a bit too loudly. "But what about-"

The doors flew open, and Seimono, now in his true form, entered, ducking a bit to get himself through the doorway. Kamryou dutifully followed behind him.

"Excuse me, but who are you supposed to be?!" the emcee demanded.

"Just someone doing my job." Seimono responded. He gazed around the room, glaring at the sets of cakes as he tried to locate Pretty Cure.

"These cakes displease Seimono-sama." Kamryou said. Their ragged arms extended and shot out, knocking several cakes onto the ground and damaging a few others. They started forwards, attacking a few more cakes. "How dare you offend Seimono-sama with their presence!"

"What are you doing?" Hiroko shouted. People were beginning to panic and either attempting to leave the room or staring in shock at their desecrated cakes, even as Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu grouped together, trying to find an opening to leave and transform.

"The cakes don't displease me." Seimono said. He didn't look particularly amused by Kamryou's antics. Kamryou apparently realized this: their arms returned to normal length and they returned to Seimono's side, sulking a little. Seimono withdrew a Rage Pod and raised it, drawing tendrils of hopeful energy from most everyone present and causing them to collapse where they stood.

"Mom!" Izumi cried as Umi collapsed. She withdrew her Puricell, glaring at Seimono. "And just when I was about to show her the beautiful cake I'd created!"

"That cake?" Seimono said, indicating Izumi's rabbit cake, which had survived unscathed. "It's a decent effort, but..."

"Oh, shut up!" Izumi said. She and the others readied their Puricells. "Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"

"The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"

"The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"

"Live in tomorrow, fight for today!" The Cure trio said, posing. "We are Pretty Cure!"

Seimono simply lobbed the Rage Pod at the some of the cakes Kamryou had knocked onto the ground. "Dogou, come forth!"

There was a flash of purplish-black light, and a golem made of mixed-up cake parts appeared. It opened its gaping mouth and began to drain sealing energy from the air. It didn't get very far, as Cure Kame rushed it, leaping into the air and kicking it in the stomach... and promptly getting stuck.

"Kame, nya!" Muse cried.

"I'm fine!" Cure Kame called back. "Don't worry about-" Before she could finish that sentence, the Dogou pulled her out and threw her into Draco and Tora, who had started forward to pull Kame out. Although Draco managed to disentangle herself, sending the cake Dogou staggering with a quick punch, Kame was a bit too slow. She jumped up and ran at the Dogou, only for Kamryou to snare her tightly in cloth bindings. "Not again!" she cried, struggling in Kamryou's grasp.

"Pretty Cure Lune Flourish!" Cure Tora shouted. She swept her hands down, sending the razor moonflower petals at Kamryou's bindings. Seimono flung himself in between the two and took the attack without even flinching. Kamryou was startled enough to loosen their grip on Kame, who wriggled out and rushed the cake Dogou, which Cure Draco was trying to hit without getting stuck.

"Seimono-sama!" Kamryou gasped. They glowered hatefully at Cure Tora. "How dare you injure Seimono-sama! I'll never forgive you!" They sprang towards Tora, who prepared to counter, only for Seimono to block her attack once again.

Cure Tora's fist connected with what felt like solid rock... maybe even harder than that. "It hurts." she said, reeling backwards a few steps. She frowned and rushed forward again, trying to find some way past Seimono in order to join her comrades.

"Kamryou." Seimono said, nodding to his vassal. Kamryou whispered something, and a large, solid iron club appeared in front of them. They lifted it (with some effort) and passed it to Seimono. As Cure Tora sprang at him, he smacked her with the club, sending her flying across them room and directly into the cake Dogou. She landed with a hard enough impact to end up buried from the waist down.

"Oh." Tora said, struggling to free herself. "This isn't good."

Kame glared at Seimono and Kamryou. "Not only do you have to ruin my chances to make an impression on my parents, not only do you have to wreck the Cake-Off for everyone, you have to stick Tora in a cake!" She pointed accusingly at the two. "You have crossed the line!"

"Kame, look out!" Cure Draco shouted as the Cake Dogou lurched towards Cure Kame. She had been trying to pull Cure Tora out, but had ended up caught herself.

Kame just barely managed being clobbered by the cake Dogou. She kicked it, but ended up getting stuck again, and her attempts to free herself just made her sink even deeper. The Dogou took this opportunity to drain more sealing energy from the air. "Damn it! How are we supposed to attack this stupid thing if we just get stuck?"'

"Seimono-sama, I'm going to destroy them now." Kamryou said. They shot forward, extending their clothing bindings and preparing to attack. Seimono didn't seem quite as eager to attack the three, but he also began to advance.

"_Imagine a spark of power inside of you, and bring that out, bit by bit, nya."_

"Our Spark Energy!" Cure Draco shouted. "Everyone, remember what Muse said!"

"Right, right, right!" Muse cheered. "Concentrate and use your Spark Energy, nya!"

Cure Draco focused, visualizing that sparking blue core of energy once more. It was much easier to do that this time around. She, Kame, and Tora began to glow in their signature color, as they were freed in a burst of light, scattering bits of frosting in the process.

"I've got these two - you get the monster!" Cure Kame told Draco and Tora. She turned to Muse. "I control gravity, right?"

"Right, nya!" Muse said, She was restraining Kisu, who had tried to go after some of the frosting the Dogou had scattered.

"Gotcha!" Cure Kame said. She concentrated and pounded the ground, sending a black shockwave through the floor. The shockwave caught Seimono a bit off-balance. As Kamryou started forward, clearly infuriated by Cure Kame's actions, she charged her punch with sparking black energy. It connected, sending Kamryou careening into Seimono. He wasn't harmed, but he was too concerned over his stunned vassal to go after Kame at the moment.

Cure Draco and Cure Tora hit the cake Dogou with twin punches charged with water and moon-elemental energy, respectively. It stumbled backward painfully, only for the two Cures to throttle it more.

"If we charge our attacks with Spark Energy, there's nothing to worry about." Cure Draco said as she and Tora landed on their feet.

Cure Kame noticed the now-weakened Dogou shambling towards the two. "Pretty Cure Megaton Shot!" Her attack shot right through the Dogou, but it didn't seem to be finished yet. "Guess this is yours, Draco." Kame said. She looked rather annoyed.

"Pretty Cure Illuse Ring!" The ring of mist surrounded the Dogou as the ball of water hit it from above. It gave one last cry, leaving behind the ruined cakes and an orb of gold energy, which floated over to Kisu.

"I commend your efforts, Pretty Cure." Seimono said. He was holding the stunned Kamryou in his arms. "However, I don't commend your attacking my vassal." He left without a sound.

Cure Kame crossed her arms. "Your vassal started it, dude." she muttered.

* * *

"So, no Cake-Off, then..." Izumi said, surveying the destruction Seimono and Kamryou had left in their wake. It didn't look like anything was left eligible for judging at this point. "At least mine survived." Her rabbit cake looked slightly smashed, but it was still in far better shape than most everything else.

"I'm not surprised." Shouji said, some time later. They had called off the Cake-Off, since most every single entry was now ineligible. "If you're not lighting things on fire, you're making things that could survive a nuclear winter!"

"Can it, Shouji." Izumi said. She wandered off, in search of her mother.

"M-my cosmetics cake." Nanami sobbed, gathering its remains. "All that hard work... for nothing!"

"At least it was fun to make, right?" Kaoru said. She patted the other girl on the back.

Kisu had wandered over and seized the candy lipstick, which he was now making a meal out of. Muse retrieved him, but Nanami and Kaoru didn't seem to notice or care.

"It's unfortunate." Yasu said. The cake she had made with Haruki had ended up getting knocked off its table and then stepped on.

"So much for the two-in-one patissier." Haruki sighed.

"It's really too bad." Hiroko told Muse. "So many people had high hopes for this contest."

Izumi had cut a slice of cake for Umi and was now offering it to her. "Mom, please try some. I made this all by myself, no help at all!"

An odd expression crossed Umi's face after she sampled the cake. "Izumi... it's alright."

"Alright?" Izumi slouched. "I put all my effort into that cake! Didn't you taste my feelings?"

"I tasted carrots." Umi said. "A bit too much carrot, actually – did you grate these or did you just chop them up?"

Izumi glanced to the side. "I chopped them up, but..."

"If only I'd helped you." Umi said. "Unlike your father, I've always been willing to teach you how to cook, if you just _asked_ –"

"Mom, it's fine!" Izumi said. "I don't need anyone's help... too much." She glanced over at her teammates, who were chatting or sampling what cakes could be salvaged. "I just wanted to do something nice for you and Dad, that's all."

"Your father can't make it." Umi said. "He had work to attend to... again." She smiled. "But we can have a nice day with each other, right?"

Izumi tried her best to return that smile. "That's right, Mom." This plan didn't work at all. _But... maybe Hiroko's right. Maybe I'll find another way to make you two understand my feelings. And that will just rule everything!_

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW

* * *

Muse: Kisu is... Kisu is... Kisu is... !

Hiroko: Kisu is what, Muse?

Muse: Kisu is... somewhere else at the moment! I'll go get him!

Izumi: By 'somewhere else' did she mean "somewhere in Kyukai"?

Yasu: It seems that way.

Hiroko: That's not good at all... especially knowing how important Kisu is! Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "Kisu Vanished ~ nya? Muse's Caretaker Woes!" Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


	6. Chapter 6

_I've admired you from afar, for some time, and I can't wait any longer. Please meet me at the school courtyard, so I can make my feelings known._

Muse stood in Mirai Academy's nearly-empty school courtyard that afternoon, holding the letter that someone had stuffed into her locker in one hand. "I'm so, so, so confused." she told Kisu, who was riding in her schoolbag. "Kou said it was a good thing, getting a letter like this, but I dunno..."

"Inoue-saaaan!" Hisakawa Nanami was running towards her, an ecstatic look on her face. She walked up to Muse and took the other girl by the hands. "I knew you'd be waiting for me!"

Muse blinked several times. "Uh, Madame President, what's going on?"

"Why, I'm confessing my feelings!" Nanami said, looking deeply into Muse's eyes and placing her hands on her shoulders. She didn't seem to notice the few students who were staring at her and whispering. "I've been interested in you for a while now. There are so many reasons... the cute way you walk beside Tsubasa-san to classes every day, the stories about your energetic ways, your adorable kitten-like face... and after seeing the adorably childish way you tried stealing the decorations off our cake, I've finally come to a decision!"

"What decision, Madame President?" Muse was trying to leave, but Nanami had a surprisingly tight grip.

"Inoue Jun." Nanami said. She let go of Muse and dropped down on one knee, as if proposing. "Please accept my request... to be your older sister!"

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

Muse backed away slowly from Nanami. "S-sister? Madame President, I don't understand at all!"

"It's quite simple!" Nanami said, grabbing Muse and pulling her to her side. She stared dreamily into the distance, oblivious to Muse's struggles to free herself from her grasp. "I've wanted a little sister of my own for years: someone to share secrets with, shower with affection, dress up in cute outfits, practice martial arts moves on... but alas, my parents granted me a little brother, only good for that last one!" She grinned. "And that's why I have to adopt you!"

"But... but... but... I don't want to!" Muse said, freeing herself from Nanami's grip, and stumbling backwards several paces. She almost ran into Takenaka Kaoru, who stopped her momentum with one hand. "Oh, Madame Vice President! Thank you!"

"You can just call me Kaoru." the other girl said, smiling gently at Muse. She was carrying a bag of donuts in one arm and carried an oversized purse on her shoulder. She glanced over Muse's shoulder at Nanami. "Nanami, are you seriously skipping a Council meeting to cheat on me with another girl?"

"What, are you jealous?" Nanami asked, sticking her tongue out at Kaoru. "But no – it's nothing like that! Inoue-san, tell my wife that I was just asking you to be my little sister."

"And I was saying that I already have a big sister, and her name is Hiro-chama!" Muse said. "And I'm a big sister too, actually... an awesome big sister."

Neither Muse nor Kaoru noticed how Kisu, entranced by the smell of donuts, had clambered out of her schoolbag and made a leap for the donut bag. He missed, instead landing right into Kaoru's half-open purse.

"There you are, Muse."

"Oh, Yasu-chama!" Muse ran up and hugged the older girl, who froze up a little. "Why are you here?"

"You said we were having another meeting, and you didn't show up." Yasu said. "Let's go."

Muse twiddled her fingers a little. "Sorry..." She glanced back at Nanami and Kaoru. "Bye, Madame President! Bye, Kaoru-sama! Have fun!"

Kaoru gazed at the departing Yasu and Muse. "It's strange... I thought she hated people. I've never seen her allow anyone to use her first name like that, anyway."

"Who knows?" Nanami said, She noticed the bag Kaoru was carrying. "Hey, you brought me donuts!"

"I brought _the Student Council_ donuts, Madame President." Kaoru said. They departed, unaware of the sleeping mouse in Kaoru's purse.

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **Kisu Vanished ~ nya? Muse's Caretaker Woes!**

* * *

A mature-sounding young woman was speaking on the clock radio on Hiroko and Muse's bedside table. Izumi sat next to it, listening intently and performing stretching exercises. "And that's why I'm asking everyone for letters about the many weird and wonderful happenings in Kyukai City! Ghosts, mystery locations, paranormal phenomena –"

"Maria has a lovely voice, and a great personality." Izumi said, listening to the radio. "I had a crush on her for a bit... but the real Maria isn't what you'd expect at all. She's nice, but... not my type."

"Our first letter comes from someone signed the 'Sun Prince'." Maria laughed softly. "What a dignified name! 'Maria-san, have you heard of the superheroes called Pretty Cure? They're a trio of girls with amazing powers, responsible for fighting off demon attacks in Kyukai!'" Hiroko and Izumi exchanged glances. "Hmm, three heroines with amazing powers... I definitely can believe this!" Maria said. "Pretty Cure, wherever you are, know that everyone in Kyukai is cheering for you!"

"'Sun Prince'..." Hiroko, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, said. "Is that who I think it is?" Something was beginning to rustle behind her.

"Our next submission reads 'Maria-san, have you heard of the Silver Chateau? Rumors say it's haunted, and I happened to see the ghost myself..."

Izumi, who had become distracted by whatever was rustling behind them, turned around to locate the source of the noise. "Oh, holy hell." she said, pointing at the source of the disturbance.

Hiroko turned to where Izumi was pointing and gasped. A half-transparent white cat with dark blue eyes had suddenly appeared in the middle of the bedroom. It walked forward a few paces before suddenly transforming into a still half-transparent white-haired man in stately-looking, dark blue clothing. "Pretty Cure..." he said, gesturing towards Hiroko and Izumi.

* * *

Yasu and Muse were a few paces away from Hiroko's dorm room when they heard Hiroko scream in terror.

"Hiro-chama!" Muse gasped. She quickly opened the door and bolted into the bedroom, walking right through the white-haired man. "Oh hi, Papa." she said as she came to a halt.

"Th-that's your father?" Hiroko asked. She had pressed herself into a corner of her bedroom, shivering.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Muse asked, perching next to Hiroko on her bed. Yasu sat on Muse's bed.

"You afraid of ghosts, Hiroko?" Izumi asked. Hiroko nodded slightly.

The white-haired man looked a bit sheepish. "My apologies... I wasn't intending to scare you like this. I'm no ghost,– I'm just projecting myself here from the Wellspring." He bowed formally to the group. I'm Sol, Muse's father. Pleased to meet you."

"You're Muse's dad, huh?" Izumi said. "I guess that's why Muse wanted us to meet you so much."

Sol beamed. "My Muse really wanted you to meet me, did she? Well, now she knows how I felt about her meeting you!"

"Papa..." Muse muttered.

"My daughter is amazing, isn't she, Pretty Cure?"

"Papa, _stop_..."

"Kind, intelligent, loving, determined – she's absolutely wonderful! My daughter is in the top percentage of all daughters–"

"PAPA!" Muse was bright red. "Please tell Pretty Cure what's going on! Please?"

"But of course, Muse!" Sol said, instantly becoming a bit more serious. "I understand you wanted to know about the previous Pretty Cure – the team I mentored, correct?"

"That's right..." Hiroko said. She was having trouble looking directly at Sol.

"That team was active ten years ago." Sol said. "That was the first time the leader of the Devil Kingdom, Aseimera suddenly decided to invade Earth. Those Cures did defeat Aseimera's commanders and almost destroyed Aseimera himself. However, they were only able to suppress, not stop his invasion attempts due to... certain circumstances. A rudimentary seal was created to keep the King and his followers at bay, but as you have probably surmised, it's begun to decay."

"Right, but why don't these older Pretty Cures help us?" Izumi asked. "Why are you guys depending on us newbies?"

"In order to finish the incomplete seal, your forerunners diverted most of their Spark Energy to it." Sol said. "They can use some of their powers, but they can't transform completely... and because their Spark Energy is powering the current seal, they can't confront the new invasion party directly."

"If they're defeated, it will further weaken the current seal, correct?" Yasu asked.

"Indeed." Sol said. "And that is where you three come in – along with Kisu. That mouse is only an infant, but he has amazing magic power. Eventually, he'll be able to seal away and purify any evil the Devil King brings into the world." He glanced around the room. "Say... where is Kisu?"

"Oh, he's just taking a nap in my schoolbag!" Muse said. "I'll go get him!" She leaped off the bed and scrambled to her schoolbag, which she'd thrown on the bedroom floor.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this." Sol told the Cures. None of them noticed how Muse peered into her schoolbag, dug through it with a horrified expression, and then bolted out the room. "There was a time when this world and the world of demons could coexist. Perhaps you three, and Muse could bring about another age of peace."

Izumi gazed around the room. "Speaking of Muse, where the hell is she?"

* * *

Muse, now in cat form, bolted out of the girls' dorms and towards Mirai Academy. H_e's gone! Kisu is gone! He..._

She stopped and buried her head in her paws. "I'm the worst big sister ever, nya." She closed her eyes, imagining the members of Pretty Cure looming above her with disgusted looks on their faces.

_Kisu is the future of this world... and you lost him?_

_Some mentor she is! Why did we even listen to this irresponsible little girl?_

_You're a disappointment, Muse. We never want to see you again._

Muses eyes snapped open as she rose, shaking her head. "No! I can't think that way, nya! He couldn't have gone that far, right?" She looked back in the direction of the girls' dorms. _Pretty Cure, Papa – please don't hate me! _

* * *

Hinyu intently watched Aseimera drink the elixir he'd prepared for him. "How is that, Your Majesty?"

Aseimera relaxed a bit. "It's good." he rumbled. "Hinyu... you brew good medicine."

The King's eyelids were beginning to droop. Hinyu breathed a sigh of relief – Aseimera had spent the past few hours throwing objects at his head, yelling himself hoarse at Seimono (and sending Kamryou fleeing), and threatening to kill Tamakushi – apparently, he'd finally exhausted himself.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I couldn't have done it on my own. I had to gain help from..." Hinyu trailed off as the sounds of Aseimera's snoring caught his ears. He shrugged and walked over to the Rage Tree, offering an outstretched hand and receiving a Rage Pod. He examined the pod for a moment. It looked a bit... shriveled. That didn't bode well.

Hinyu tucked the Rage Pod into his front pocket and left the throne room. He'd gone a few paces when one of the statues lining the main hall suddenly turned into Tamakushi, who grabbed him by the arm.

"Going to challenge Pretty Cure?" she asked. "Or are you going to send the Idiot Trio to do it for you?"

Hinyu yanked his arm away from her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

If Tamakushi had eyes, she would be rolling them right now. "Monitoring you is far too easy for me." she said, following him down the hall. "I know about every little thing you've been up to."

"And what of it?" Hinyu asked. He increased his pace, trying to lose Tamakushi. It wasn't working.

Tamakushi cut in front of him. "Quit worrying about your safety, or how badly the humans smell or whatever your problem is, and take them on yourself, you damned coward!" She transformed into a perfect copy of Hinyu. "Don't you worry – I can play devoted bootlicker in your absence. Aseimera won't know the difference."

Hinyu simply walked past... himself, simmering. He lit another cigar as he went. _When I'm king, that woman's head will be first on the chopping block._

* * *

The three members of Pretty Cure arrived in Kyukai Square, looking around frantically.

"She isn't on campus..." Hiroko said. "And she isn't anywhere around here." She took out her Puricell and stared at it for a moment. "And I know she can contact us, but she didn't tell us how to contact her..."

"She could have just _told_ us that Kisu was missing!" Izumi said. "We would've helped her!"

Hiroko shook her head. "She's acting like I did, back when I broke Chiaki's favorite compact – I didn't tell her outright and tried avoiding her. I thought if Chiaki knew what I did, she wouldn't love me anymore. I know Muse sees me as her older sister, so she probably feels that way too." She noticed that Yasu was staring out into the distance again. "Yasu?"

"She was talking to Nanami and Kaoru." Yasu said. "They go to church together. I don't know if they went today, but –"

"We have to try!" Hiroko finished.

"Let's split up, then." Izumi said. "Hiroko, Yasu, you try the church, I'll try... somewhere else. See ya!" Before either girl could respond, she had dashed off.

* * *

Muse wandered downtown Kyukai, growing more and more despondent. She couldn't sense Kisu anywhere, especially with all these people around. Having to dodge the odd child who grabbed for the "cute kitty" wasn't helping her mood.

_Poor Kisu..._ _what if he's lonely? What if he's hungry? What if he's hurt?_ She suppressed the urge to cry. _If I'd just been watching him, this wouldn't have happened!_

"Now, what are you doing here?" Before Muse could pull away, someone reached down and grabbed her, cradling her in his arms. She recognized him instantly – it was Shouji. "Hey, there, kitty." he said, scratching Muse between the ears. "Are you lost?"

"I-" Muse began, before mentally kicking herself and answering with a soft meow.

Shouji smiled warmly. "Poor thing." He scrutinized the gold collar Muse wore. "Huh... you have a collar, so you're somebody's kitty. A collar with music notes on it... can I call you 'Onpu'?" Muse meowed in agreement. "Alright, Onpu!" As Shouji meandered around downtown Kyukai, he added "Onpu, can I tell you a secret?" Muse meowed again. "I think I went overboard trying to talk sense into my sister yesterday. Do you think she hates me for it?" Muse didn't respond. "I guess I deserve it if she does." Shouji said. "But you know what? I don't hate her, and I know she won't hate me forever. We're siblings – we're not gonna stop loving each other just 'cause one of us screws up, you know?"

Muse meowed, a little louder now. _You won't? Then Hiro-chama and everyone might not... _She was distracted by what looked like a ball of white fluff riding a passing woman's shoulder. She freed herself from Shouji's grasp and dashed off.

"Wait, Onpu!" Shouji called. Muse was gone. Moments later, Izumi, who was looked like she was searching for something herself, walked up to him. "What do you want?" he muttered.

"It's none of your business." Izumi said. "Were you just talking to yourself?"

"And what if I was?" Shouji said. He walked past Izumi, smirking. "I don't need my idiot sister telling me what I can and can't do."

* * *

Yasu sat down on a bench, catching her breath. She looked visibly tired and a little pale.

"Are you alright?" Hiroko asked.

She was answered by a cold glare from Yasu. "I don't need pity, Hiroko." She said it in the same quiet, near-monotone voice she always used, but Hiroko could still hear a hint of anger in it.

"I'm not pitying you, I'm _worried_." Hiroko said. "There's a difference." Yasu just looked down at the ground, completely silent.

"Hey there! Watcha doin'?" A petite teenage girl about Muse's age had approached them. She had pink hair in loose, curly twintails and sported a small cowlick on her head, and her pink eyes gazed curiously at the two from behind round, pink-lensed glasses studded with rhinestones. Most everything she wore, from her tie-dyed dress to her multi-colored stockings, had a rainbow theme to it.

"Just looking for my roommate and her... pet." Hiroko said. "It's nothing important."

"Oh, okay." the pink-haired girl said. "Say... I have some free time, so I can help you out! What do you say?" She looked plaintively at Hiroko and Yasu.

"Er... yes?" Hiroko said. She didn't see how it would help, but the girl didn't look like she'd take 'no' for an answer. "I want to let Yasu rest first, though."

"I'm fine." Yasu said rising to her feet. She really didn't look fine at all.

The pink-haired girl looked ecstatic. "Okay, great! And away we go!" She prepared to start off before stopping and adding "Oh, by the way – I'm Gotou Rie! Nice to meet you!"

Hiroko smiled nervously. "Nice to meet you too, Gotou-san..." Something about this girl felt rather strange... and judging by the way Yasu was staring at her, she definitely wasn't normal.

* * *

**Eyecatch One**: _Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two: **_Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in pursuing Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

"A white mouse? You mean, like Inoue-san's doll?" Nanami, who stood in front of Kyukai's local Catholic church, exchanged glances with Kaoru, who was by her side. "Sorry, but I don't remember seeing anything like that."

"I could have sworn something white jumped out of my purse when I was buying takoyaki for Nanami..." Kaoru said. "But that's ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Well, sorry to bother you." Hiroko said. She, Yasu, and Rie departed. "So much for that." At this point, she felt ready to give up.

"Wait, Tsubasa-san!" Nanami called after her. "I want to borrow Inoue-san from you! No – as Student Council President, I _demand_ you surrender Inoue to me! I'm the superior big sister, Tsubasa-san!" But Hiroko was already well out of earshot.

"Hmm..." Rie said. "It's white... oh! Is it the cute little mouse with the purification powers and everything?"

Hiroko and Yasu stared blankly at her. "Er..."

"I knew it!" Rie was beaming now. "So you two must be my successors – and you must be the cutie I talked to, the one with the silver aura!" she told Yasu, who simply averted her eyes.

Hiroko scrutinized Rie. "Gotou-san... how old are you?"

"Oh me? I just turned twenty-two a few months ago!" Rie told Hiroko. She noticed that Yasu was staring past her, at a nearby ice cream cart. "What's wrong, honey?"

"It's Kisu." Yasu said. Indeed, the white mouse was trying to scale the ice cream cart and get to the sweet, cold treats inside. He wasn't having much luck.

Hiroko rushed forward and sprang for Kisu. Rie did as well. However, a newcomer smacked into them from behind, causing all three to fall into a sprawled pile on the ground. "Sorry, Hiro-chama!" the interloper said, revealing herself as Muse.

"It's fine..." Hiroko said as she disentangled herself from Rie. "But Kisu-"

Yasu had walked over to the ice cream cart and retrieved the mouse while everyone else had been knocked over. As soon as she approached Muse, Kisu sprang out of her hands and onto Muse's shoulder, nuzzling her face.

"Kisu!" Muse said. "You're okay! And... Hiro-chama... Yasu-chama, are you guys... you guys aren't..." She seemed a bit too upset to finish her sentence.

"Oh dear. Let's talk this over with some delicious ice cream, you three!" Rie said. "How does that sound?"

* * *

Rie, Hiroko, Yasu, and Muse sat near one of the small gardens that dotted Kyukai, eating ice cream. Muse was feeding some to Kisu and getting ice cream on herself in the process.

"You really don't hate me for losing Kisu, Hiro-chama, Yasu-chama?" Muse asked. "Really truly?"

"You scared me, running away like that." Hiroko said. "I understand your feelings... when I broke Chiaki's favorite compact, I tried to hide what I'd done for a while. I thought that if she learned what I'd done, she wouldn't love me anymore. She didn't... she said if I'd just been honest, she would have been upset, but she'd never stop being my older sister." She smiled at Muse. "I feel the same way about you."

Muse nodded. "I'll remember that, Hiro-chama." She looked down at Kisu. "And I'm never gonna let you out of my sight again! I wanna be a good big sister, just like Hiro-chama!"

Izumi, who Hiroko had called a few moments ago, finally approached the group. She stared at Rie, apparently recognizing her herself. "Oh... my... god!" She rushed up to Rie. "Maria, what are you doing here?"

"Enjoying ice cream with my cute little successors, of course!" Rie said. She noticed Hiroko and Yasu's dubious expressions and added "I'm definitely the real Maria." in what sounded much more like the voice she used on the radio. "I just try my best to look different when I'm out like this, so I don't get too much attention." She giggled. "It's like having a secret identity! Again, maybe? Only this time, I don't have superpowers. Well, I do have superpowers, but... I'm not exactly supposed to be using them."

"And this is what I meant by the real Maria not being what you'd expect." Izumi whispered to Hiroko.

Muse was starry-eyed. "You're a former Pretty Cure and you have your own show! That's so, so, so cool!"

"Oh, it's nothing!" Rie said. "But enough about me - I wanna talk about you guys! So... how do you like being Pretty Cure, have you learned how to control your Spark Energy, have you unlocked your Cure Arms yet–"

"What are 'Cure Arms'?" Izumi asked.

"Well, once you overcome your weaknesses or something, you can create weapons out of your Spark Energy!" Rie said. "Like, let's see... Marina's got the Bronze Shot, I have the Yellow Baton, Kimi's got the Rose Parsol..."

"No, we've got nothing like that." Izumi said. "I wish we did..." She imagined herself clobbering her enemies with a giant hammer. "Looks like we've got more powering up to do, huh?"

Yasu looked a bit uneasy at the mention of overcoming weaknesses. "I suppose so."

* * *

Hinyu appeared on top of a building in downtown Kyukai, immediately cringing at the stench that assaulted his nose. His sense of smell was much sharper than his colleagues', and humans stank so much...

"This world is teeming with filthy, reeking worms. It's disgusting." he muttered, gazing down at the humans bustling about below him. If he and that useless lout of a king agreed on anything, it was that a species as fundamentally inferior as humans had no business having a whole world to themselves, let alone existing.

Hinyu's green eyes scanned the area for something suitable to transform into the Dogou. Finally, he spotted the ice cream cart, which was currently being mobbed by a horde of human spawn. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp, pearly-white teeth. That would do nicely. He removed the Rage Pod from its pocket and held it up into the air. Down below, numerous people, including the children who had been swarming around the ice cream cart, collapsed where they stood, something that immediately drew the notice of Rie.

"You guys know what to do!" Rie told Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, who readied their Puricells.

A reddish-gold rod, which resembled a billiard cue appeared in Hinyu's hand. He used it to direct the Rage Pod from his spot on the roof directly into the ice cream cart, like a billiards player aiming for a pocket. "Dogou... come forth." he said flatly.

The ice-cream cart glowed with purplish-black light, becoming a robot-like monster which held the cart's parasol in front of it like a shield. It gave a roar, proceeding to drain sealing energy from the air.

"Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"

"The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"

"The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"

"Live in tomorrow, fight for today!" The Cure trio said, posing. "We are Pretty Cure!"

The three were answered by a round of sarcastic clapping from Hinyu, who had appeared next to the Dogou. "So, you're the ones the Idiot Trio kept yapping about." he drawled. "I can't say I'm particularly impressed."

"We haven't even done anything!" Cure Kame said.

Hinyu flicked an idle fireball into the air. "You don't _have_ to do anything. I already know how three human girls will fare against me, pretty outfits or none." He nodded to the Dogou. "Destroy them." He teleported to the top of another booth in a puff of smoke, apparently confident enough to simply watch the battle without intervening.

With a roar, the Dogou started forwards, opening its front compartments. As Pretty Cure rushed towards it, it fired a flurry of frosty ice cream cones at them like missiles. The three weaved out of the way of the onslaught, but the missiles suddenly changed direction, homing in on them.

Cure Tora stepped in front of the onslaught. "Pretty Cure Lune Flourish!" She swept her hands down, sending the hail of petals at the flurry of ice cream missiles, which were blown apart. She dispatched the few stragglers with an elegant, sweeping punch, charging her fist with ethereal silver light.

With the Dogou distracted, Cure Draco and Cure Kame leaped forwards, hitting the Dogou with Spark Energy-charged kicks. As they hit it, it countered with its parasol, swatting the two backwards as its second compartment opened, revealing a glowing blue light.

Cure Kame pulled herself to her feet and charged at the Dogou. "No, you don't! Pretty Cure Megaton Shot!"

The Dogou deflected Kame's attack with its parasol, sending the gravity sphere hurtling at Cure Draco and Cure Tora instead. Tora gracefully sidestepped it and Draco managed to scramble out of the way, leaving the sphere to make an impressive dent in the street instead, slightly unbalancing both girls with the shock. At the same time, the still-stunned Kame was hit by the blue ice beam the Dogou had fired, instantly freezing her in a solid block of ice. The Dogou idly kicked her over as it advanced on Draco and Tora.

"You – !" Cure Draco sent a ball of damaging mist at the Dogou, who emanated a cooling mist of its own from its front compartment. Her attack was frozen solid and harmlessly fell to the ground as ice droplets.

At the same moment, Cure Tora leaped towards it, both hands glowing. It deflected her attack with its parasol, although she managed to tear it with the blades of silver light she'd created. Before she could get any further, it hit her with the side of its parasol, sending her careening into Draco and sending both girls flying backwards several yards. The Dogou gave a roar of triumph and fired another salvo of ice cream missiles at them. They made a direct hit, leaving both Cures badly hurt and unable to move. With its opponents out of the way, it proceeded to drain more Spark Energy from the air.

Rie watched the scene from her hiding place in a nearby alleyway. "Oh, no you don't." she whispered. She began to glow with yellow light.

"Pretty Cure!" Muse cried. She was still in her human form and held Kisu close to her. She noticed that Hinyu had descended from his perch and was approaching the fallen Cures. "H-how dare you do these terrible things t-to them – to anyone!" she yelled, attempting to obstruct Hinyu's path to Pretty Cure.

"I don't need a lecture from anything that chooses to aid humans." Hinyu said. He noticed Kisu staring at him in terror and sniffed inquisitively. His eyes widened. "That thing... it's radiating with power!" He lunged for Kisu. "I'll be taking that."

"No!" Muse cried, pulling away from him. "Don't you dare touch my baby brother!" She shifted Kisu to one hand, as her free hand began to glow with golden light. She fired a series of light-based music notes at Hinyu... who simply flicked them aside with one hand.

"You really had to make this difficult for yourself, didn't you?" Hinyu snarled. He pulled out the billiard cue he'd used earlier and struck Muse, sending her flying to the ground. As she landed hard on the pavement, she reverted to cat form, still keeping a firm grip on Kisu. Hinyu reached towards the unmoving Muse... only to be hit in the stomach by a ball of concentrated mist.

Cure Draco struggled towards him. She was badly beaten-up, but still managed plant herself firmly between him and Muse. "You will not touch her!" she shouted. "I won't allow you to!"

Muse, weakly lifting her head, tearing up a bit at the sound of Cure Draco's words. Cure Tora, who was too badly hurt to move, watched the proceedings with a stunned expression.

"How very sentimental." Hinyu said. He easily knocked Cure Draco aside with a single kick. "But appeals to emotion won't save you."

Hinyu shot a bolt of fire at Muse... and Draco scrambled to her feet and leaped in front of it, allowing the flames to lick at her legs and the side of her Cure costume, leaving burn marks all over both. Draco cried out in pain, but she still refused to budge.

"Hiro-chama!" Muse cried.

Cure Draco gave a weak smile. "Are you okay?" Muse nodded hesitantly. "I'm glad..." Draco whispered before collapsing from exhaustion.

"Hmph. You're as pathetic as I predicted." Hinyu said, grinning in triumph at the sight of the vanquished Cures as he strolled towards them, clearly prepared to finish them off.

Kisu chose that moment to spring towards Hinyu with a loud, insistent squeak. Hinyu easily caught the mouse in his hands, only for his triumphant expression gave way to a pained one as Kisu glowed with white-hot energy. Still, Hinyu tried to hold onto him, until the pain and the force of the energy Kisu was radiating became too overwhelming, forcing Hinyu to let go of him.

Hinyu landed in a sprawled heap, now sporting scorch marks all over his hands and around his sleeves. "Dogou... finish them..." he hissed, trying and failing to recover. No response. He gazed over at the Dogou, which was frozen to the spot. Yellow light surrounded its feet, and its mouth was being forced shut with the same yellow light.

A newcomer, clad in a frilly, luminescent dress, was crouched in a nearby tree. She giggled playfully, waving the baton she carried tauntingly at Hinyu. "Is something wrong?"

Hinyu cursed his ill fortune – one of the previous Cures right there, and he couldn't do anything to her! He simply glared at the yellow Cure before pulling himself to his feet and vanishing in a puff of smoke.

At the same moment, the yellow Cure jumped off of her perch, hitting the Dogou from behind with a flying kick. It fell forwards as she prepared her own attack. "Pretty Cure... L'or Shower!" The yellow Cure swept her baton into the air and then pointed it at the Dogou. A series of golden metallic hearts bombarded the Dogou from above. It vanished in a flash of light, leaving the golden orb of energy, which floated over to Kisu.

"And that does it!" In a flash of yellow, Rie resumed her civilian form, before looking over the exhausted Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu. The group had reverted to their civilian forms on their own, healing the damage the Dogou had inflicted on them, but they still looked very worn-out. "Now, how to help you poor little things..."

* * *

Muse's hands glowed with yellow light as she laid them on Hiroko's leg. "Is that better, Hiro-chama?"

"It's fine, Muse." Hiroko said. The three Cures, Rie, Muse, and Kisu sat in a gazebo atop a hill that overlooked Kyukai. "I just said my legs still hurt a little." She yawned. "I'm going to sleep well tonight, though..."

Izumi was still shivering. "A l-little help over here, p-please!" Muse nodded and scrambled to help her with her magic.

Yasu was simply looking down at the ground. She looked much worse than she had earlier.

"Are you okay?" Rie asked. "You look tired." Yasu remained silent.

"Why did you protect me like that, Hiro-chama?" Muse asked Hiroko.

Hiroko smiled. "Because I care about you, Muse. No matter what happens, I'll never stop caring about you."

"Hiro-chama... thank you!" Muse ran over to the other girl and hugged her tightly. Kisu added some thankful squeaks of his own. "Everyone, thanks for fighting so hard!"

"And thank you for being the wonderful daughter that you are!" Sol had appeared in front of them again. Hiroko jumped at the sight of him.

Rie waved a hand. "Hey there, Sol! How are you doing?"

"Just fine." Sol said. "You look well, Rie. In fact... you haven't changed a bit."

Rie giggled. "Hey! That's not _quite_ true! I'm an awesome radio celebrity now – that's a big change!"

"What in the – how did you get here?" Izumi said. "And _why_ are you here?"

"I can project myself just about anywhere." Sol said. "And as for your other question... our meeting was cut short, before I could tell you just how proud I was of my wonderful daughter! This loving father has made a grievous mistake that be corrected!"

"But... you already said how proud of her you were." Hiroko said. "Repeatedly."

"It can never be said enough!" Sol said. "Muse – thank you for taking such good care of Kisu. I'd hug you for it... but I'm just here in spirit right now."

Muse glanced at the very content Kisu and then back to Sol. "But... I let him get lost!"

"And then you went out of your way to find him again, didn't you?" Sol asked. "That shows how much you care. After all, your mother and I made some mistakes ourselves when we first had you. We just learned from those mistakes, and you loved us just the same!" He laughed heartily and added "Speaking of that, would you like to hear some of Muse's baby stories? She was the cutest little baby, in the top percentage of all babies–"

"PAPA!" Muse sprang to her feet and charged at Sol. Soon, father and daughter were chasing each other around the gazebo.

"He's strange." Yasu said. "Attractive, but strange."

"But he does love Muse very much." Hiroko said. She noticed Kisu pulling at her sleeve and scooped him up, cuddling him close. "That's what family is all about, in the end."

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW

* * *

Hiroko: Yasu is a closed book – I wonder why.

Muse: Maybe she really is a robot!

Hiroko: Muse, no. There has to be some reason she's so secretive.

Muse: She could be a time traveler hiding classified information! Ooh, or maybe she's an esper working for a secret agency, or-

Hiroko: Or maybe something happened to her... something related to the way she's been acting.

Muse: Well, that works too.

Hiroko: Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "We Like You, We Like You, Yasu, We Like You". Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


	7. Chapter 7

Most everyone in the Art Club had gone home already, leaving Yasu alone in the art room with her canvas. She wore her usual stoic expression as she worked on her current painting – a portrait of a dark-complexioned young man with dark brown eyes and short, curly light brown hair. The comments the other Mirai students had made about her as they'd passed her by were still echoing about in her head, threatening to disrupt her concentration.

"_Fukuda-san is a regular cool beauty! And talented too – have you seen her paintings?"_

"_Yes – they're beautiful! But I heard she doesn't like people..."_

"_There's just something about her that makes her so difficult to talk to."_

"_Maybe she really just has a lousy personality."_

Yasu's brow furrowed a little as she continued to work. Few students actually _talked_ to her – a few, enamored by her "cool beauty" would leave letters in her locker but never directly approach her, others would avoid her and whisper about the Headmistress' creepy, emotionless daughter like she wasn't even there.

Muse had picked up on this fairly quickly. "It's like they're all scared of Yasu-chama." she'd remarked during their meditation session the other day. "That's silly – Yasu-chama's not scary at all!"

Yasu sighed, staring out the window. Muse had been right – it was silly. _I'm more scared of them..._

* * *

OP: PRETTY CURE SUNRISE

* * *

"HINYU!"

Hinyu stumbled backwards from the sheer force of Aseimera's rage. "Y-yes, Your Majesty?" he stammered, defensively throwing up his hands, which were tightly wrapped in gauze.

"WHY IS THE RAGE TREE WITHERING? THE LAST INFUSION OF DESPAIR SHOULD HAVE LASTED SEVEN YEARS! WHY IS IT WITHERING AFTER ONE AND A HALF? WHY? WHY?" He chucked a Rage Pod, which was marked with age spots, at Hinyu's head. His attendant barely managed to side-step it. The Rage Tree itself wasn't looking particularly well itself – the leaves were beginning to brown and black spots were beginning to surface on the trunk. It would twitch lethargically every few moments.

Hinyu bit his lip. Best to choose his words carefully. "Your Majesty, I am not certain of the reason for this. _However_, I have already made plans to rectify it myself... plans which are being carried out as we speak!"

Aseimera scowled a bit. "Carried out by whom?"

* * *

"Moron!"

Kae A. Dama clocked her taller henchman, R. Kooyoo over the head. The three demons, now in their human disguises, stood near the fountain in Kyukai Square. P. Tobi was calmly consulting a brochure on the city while his two teammates went at it.

"Boss, I was just saying that we should eat a big meal at that pizza place we robbed last time, and then get the... stuff Hinyu-sama wanted, ukii!" Kooyoo said, wincing from Kae's blow. "That's all!"

"Do you ever think about anything that ain't food, netsu?" Kae said.

"Of course I do, Boss!" Kooyoo said. "I think about you, and my best buddy Tobi, and the weather, and what we're gonna have for breakfast tomorrow, and –"

Kae threw up a hand, instantly quieting Kooyoo. "Forget I asked, netsu. And no, we're not gonna go for food!" She produced what looked like a sealed, transparent glass vase, seeming out of thin air. "We're gonna finish the great mission Hinyu-sama tasked us with and earn his respect, netsu!" Kae grew starry-eyed as she let out a dreamy sigh. "All for the sake of Hinyu-sama's happiness, netsu~"

"Yes, because a low-class witch means _so much_ to Aseimera's right hand, osra." Tobi deadpanned as Kae made the vase vanish again. He didn't look up from the brochure but still managed to easily dodge Kae's fist. "Huh... Mirai Academy – why does that one sound familiar?"

"Mirai... Academy?" Kae and Kooyoo peered over Tobi's shoulder. His brochure was opened on an article about the school in question.

"Oh, that fancy place, ukii!" Kooyoo said. "The one I got the cake from!"

"That looks like it'd be brimming with hopeful energy, netsu!" Kae said. She produced yet another volume of manga, grinning triumphantly. "We'll be just like Team Dark Cross, when they infiltrated an unsuspecting high school, netsu! Tobi will be a teacher, and then I'll be a beautiful high school student, and then Kooyoo here will be a janitor..."

Tobi buried his face in one hand. "Not this garbage again..."

Kae didn't seem to hear him. "...and then we'll get our people, and it'll be totally, set, netsu!" She started off triumphantly.

"What do you mean 'our people', osra?" Tobi called after her. He reached into the front pocket of his jacket, producing a shiny black seed pod. "That ma... Hinyu said we were to infect one hopeful _person_ with these spores, osra."

Kae laughed. "Oh, Tobi! Hinyu-sama only said that 'cause he doubts the true capabilities of the Magnificent Trio! That's why we're gonna infect a _ton_ of people with the despair... spore... thingies, netsu!" She paused and added "No one cares what _you_ think, netsu." to some invisible objector.

Tobi slouched. "_Kae_-"

Kae put her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "Who's the fearsome criminal gang leader here, huh? You or me, netsu?"

"You, Kae." Tobi muttered, falling in line with her and Kooyoo.

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: **We Like You, We Like You, Yasu, We Like You**

* * *

The Fukuda siblings had invited everyone over to their house for lunch. Yasu and Haruki had prepared a delicious lunch for the group. Hiroko, Muse, and Kisu, the last of which was seated on a special pallet on the table, seemed to enjoy it, but Izumi, who was staring at her bowl of miso soup and idly stirring it around, didn't seem as thrilled.

"Is something wrong with the soup, Izumi-san?" Haruki asked.

Izumi shook her head. "Nah... I just don't like miso."

Yasu stared at her. "You don't like miso?"

"Hey, everyone has different tastes, Yasu!" Izumi said, eliciting a giggle from Hiroko. "_What_?"

"Can I have it instead, Izumi-chama?" Muse asked. Izumi immediately pushed her soup bowl over to her.

Hiroko noticed that Haruki looked a little downcast. "It's really good soup, Haruki." she said with a smile. "You and your sister are really good cooks."

Haruki turned pink. "Th-that means a lot coming from you, Hiroko-san." He noticed Yasu focusing on a nearby clock. "Sis?"

"I'm sorry, but I have a meeting." Yasu said, rising to her feet. "Maybe I'll see everyone this afternoon." Moments later, she departed the house, carrying a large envelope under her arm.

"And of course she doesn't tell us why." Izumi said, a few moments after Yasu had left. "Sheesh... I hate how secretive she is! It's like she doesn't trust us."

"Somehow, I don't think that's quite it." Hiroko said. "I want to get to know the real Yasu, but I can't force her to share her feelings if she doesn't want to."

Haruki glanced down at his soup bowl. He wanted Hiroko and her friends to get to know the real Yasu too.

* * *

Alan Bell, one of the English teachers at Mirai Academy, was not in his office. Yasu, who was still carrying the painting she'd made for him with her, grimaced. He was supposed to be here, especially on a day like this. She glanced around, making sure that none of her teammates had followed her. This was something they were better off not knowing about.

_Bell-sensei will be so happy..._ Yasu thought to herself, blushing a little... just as the sound of footsteps jolted her out of her reverie. She turned to find a slender, bespectacled young man with slicked-back dark violet hair and orange eyes stood near her. He wore a dark purple suit with a gray tie and was staring at Yasu as if he'd seen her somewhere before.

"Are you looking for something?" Yasu asked.

The violet-haired man froze. "Er... j-just the classroom I was teaching in!" he said. His words sounded oddly forced, like he was reading from a script. "I'm Kuromori Shouta, a... substitute here."

"Oh." Yasu said. "You're the substitute for Bell-sensei's class aren't you?" Kuromori nodded nervously. "Is he ill?"

"He's... ah, a bit out of it, yes."

Yasu looked rather let down. "And on his birthday too... that's too bad." she said. "I had something I really wanted to give him."

Tobi watched Yasu leave, absently feeling his section of the black seed pod in his front jacket. So, "Bell-sensei" must have been that poor sod Kae had knocked out when they'd arrived on campus... and he taught a class with a Pretty Cure in it.

"Absolutely delightful." Kuromori, or rather Tobi, muttered as he set off. Still, Cure or not, she probably wouldn't transform in front of people, and he'd only be there long enough unleash the spores and leave the stupid classroom and Kae's idiotic plan behind for the day. It wouldn't be _that_ difficult.

* * *

Tobi stared at the crowd of third-year junior high students, trying to make his mouth work. "I... er, Bell-sensei is... indisposed at the moment, so I'm here to... teach you English!" He forced an awkward smile.

The students of 3-B just stared at him. Someone towards the back of the classroom coughed.

"Who is this guy even kidding?" Shouji muttered.

Misty was nervously consulting another student. "You don't think he has Bell-sensei tied up somewhere, do you?"

"Well, then!" Tobi said. "Before we begin, I'm going to... er, show you a magic trick! To break the ice, you know?"

The students gawked at him dubiously. Shouji seemed especially unconvinced. "A 'magic trick'? Seriously? You're not even a teacher, are you?"

"I am most definitely a teacher, os... obviously!" Tobi snapped. Before anyone else could say anything, he pulled his section of the black seed pod out of his front pocket. In a flash, he'd cracked it and summoned a gust of wind, sending black spores rushing through the room. The spores swirled around the heads of the students, who inhaled them, and...

Tobi drew in a breath, waiting. The students would be consumed by the power of despair... any minute now... any minute now...

Nothing happened. At all. The students hadn't even seemed to notice what he'd done.

"Where's the magic trick?" a girl asked.

"I felt a draft... and that was it." another girl said. "That magic trick _sucked_."

Yasu rubbed her temples idly. Her head felt a little weird, all of a sudden...

"What a lousy excuse for a substitute." Shouji said. "I have no idea why Fukuda led you in here – you're not someone she can mindlessly lust after like Bell-sensei."

"It's pathetic, the way she throws herself at him – and then acts like we don't notice." a girl said. "But then, Fukuda has always been a pathetic person, hasn't she?"

All of of 3-B seemed to home in on Yasu, who felt her heart freeze in her chest.

The other students had risen from their desks and surrounded Yasu, glaring at her. She slouched down, trying to avoid everyone's stares. It didn't help. "She acts like a cool beauty, but she's really a weak-minded crybaby." another boy said. "I've seen the way she relies on her little brother – it's embarrassing!"

"Fukuda looks a little freaked out." Misty said, before slamming her hands on Yasu's desk, causing her to jump. "Don't hide like that, Fukuda! You're always drawing attention to yourself with your special uniform, your pretty paintings, your nice clothes – and _now_ you want people to leave you alone? If you don't want attention,_ don't ask for it_."

Yasu felt suffocated under her classmates' sudden contempt for her. Part of her knew this was ridiculous – they wouldn't start acting like this for no reason, but there was another part of her that fully believed what was going on – and that part was winning.

"Well, Fukuda?" her classmates chorused. "Aren't you going to say something? Are you just going to pass out or go crying for your daddy? Well?"

"Please..." Yasu whispered. She jumped to her feet, backing away from the horde of students. "Please stop!" She fled the classroom.

No students had left their chairs, nor had anyone said anything about Yasu in the last few moments. As far as the rest of the class, including Tobi, could tell, she had ran out for no reason.

"What happened to Fukuda-san?" Misty asked. "She looked sick."

"Who knows?" Shouji said. Although he was trying to sound nonchalant, he couldn't hide the concern on his face.

* * *

Izumi had left to go grab a drink of water when she spotted Yasu wandering down the hallway in a half-stupor. "Hey, Yasu!" she called. "What's wrong?"

Yasu froze in her tracks, before backing away fearfully from the other girl. "Please... stop looking at me like that!"

"Stop looking at you like _what_?" Izumi demanded. Instead of answering, Yasu simply ran away. "What the hell?"

There was no one Yasu could turn to. Everyone she ran into on campus either insulted her or looked at her indifferently. She felt like she'd gone back in time – she was no longer a fifteen-year-old but a scared ten-year-old, subjected to the mocking sneers of her classmates, ignored or told to rise above it by the teachers...

She took off for Fukuda Manor.

* * *

Kae, who wore Mirai Academy's female uniform, complete with the royal blue neck ribbon donned by female high school students had just finished scattering black spores around the school mailing room, when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder and clear their throat.

"And what do you think you're doing?" the interloper, a woman with green hair in a short bob and green eyes, demanded.

"I was... um, cleaning the place! Just doing my part as a student here, netsu!" Kae said.

The green-haired woman obviously wasn't buying it. "We don't put students in charge of cleaning the mail room, Miss-"

"Kae... ko." Kae said. "Damai Kaeko, netsu!"

"Well, 'Damai Kaeko', you're coming with me." the green-haired woman said before half-dragging a struggling Kae out of the mail room.

As they left, they passed by Tobi, who was being hauled off by security. "I'm telling you, I didn't know the guy was out cold!" he was yelling. "I was assigned here as a substitute! I was just doing my job, osra!" He shot a glare at Kae as he was dragged off.

Kae swore under her breath, even as she seized one of her charms with her free hand – this was _not_ how it happened in her comics!

* * *

"And then she just took off. I guess she went back home." Izumi had told Hiroko earlier. "Can you go talk to Yasu? I have practice, and besides... I bet she'd listen to you more easily anyway."

"What do you think happened to Yasu-chama?" Muse asked as she and Hiroko made her way to Fukuda Manor that afternoon.

"I'm not sure..." Hiroko said. "What Izumi told me doesn't sound promising."

The two girls rounded the corner... and were almost bowled over by Haruki, who stopped himself moments before he could crash into the two.

"Oh, Hiroko-san, Muse!" Haruki looked rather stressed-out. "I need you to come over to my house – it's Yasu, she's locked herself in her room, and I can't get her to come out!"

"Izumi said she was acting strangely." Hiroko said.

"She has been." Haruki said. "She was acting like before, back when..."

"When what, Haru-chama?" Muse asked.

Haruki looked around, as if he was worried about someone listening in. "I'd rather go someplace quiet and then tell you."

* * *

"Sis wasn't always so stoic." Haruki said. He, Hiroko, and Muse sat near some of Mirai's flower gardens, taking in the afternoon air. "When Dad was still alive, she was actually really cheerful." Haruki smiled sadly. "Sis was like Dad – she was sick all the time, so she couldn't go out and play. But as long as he was there, it didn't really matter."

_A six-year-old Yasu was presenting a watercolor painting of flowers to Keitaro. "Is this alright, Papa?"_

_Keitaro beamed. "'Alright'? Yasu, this is gorgeous!" He wheeled himself over to the girl, ruffling her hair a bit. "You're going to be a brilliant artist someday."_

"And then..." Haruki's voice caught a little. "Dad got worse. He died on my fifth birthday."

_An eight-year-old Yasu was clinging to Yui in the hospital lobby. "Th-that's a lie! Papa isn't dead! He can't be... he can't..."_

"Haruki..." Hiroko said, holding his hand.

"Sis started crying all the time - she thought she'd lose me or Mom next. She started getting sicker too. Mom tried her best to take care of her, but her classmates..."

_A nine-year-old Yasu had pressed herself into the corner of her classroom. Several of her classmates surrounded her, glaring at her._

"_It's your fault, Fukuda!" a boy shouted. "Why did you ruin our class trip?"_

"_I... didn't mean to!" Yasu whispered. "I just... I just..."_

"_Passed out." a girl finished. "And then you started crying for your daddy after you woke up. Isn't your dad dead anyway?" Yasu began crying more in response. "What a pathetic person!" the girl sniffed._

"_She was probably faking it for attention anyway." another girl sneered. "She loves being fussed over by the teachers, after all."_

"Her classmates just made her feel worse and worse, and the teachers weren't much help either."

_An eight-year-old Haruki entered a ten-year-old Yasu's room with some hot cocoa. His sister was staring at a half-finished painting on her easel. "Sis?"_

_Yasu turned – she'd removed her glasses, and her eyes were red from crying. "Kato-sensei says it's my fault." she sobbed. "If I was just more self-confident... if I didn't go out of my way to draw attention to myself..."_

_Haruki ran to his sister and hugged her – she froze up a little in response. "Sis..."_

Haruki watched the wind blow through the flowers surrounding the garden. "Sis got surgery eventually, but those people didn't care. They just kept hurting her, until finally stopped crying... or yelling, or laughing, or smiling. That way, nobody can hurt her ever again. She told me that once."

"Then... that's why Yasu-chama acts all... that's awful!" Muse said. Kisu squeaked in agreement. "As Pretty Cure's mentor, I'm gonna reach Yasu-chama's feelings and fix everything!"

"That's actually why I was going to see you guys." Haruki said. "Sis does seem to trust you a lot."

* * *

Even without Haruki's help, Hiroko could easily identify Yasu's bedroom door – it was decorated with a pink nameplate, with her name spelled out in curly purple script. "Yasu?" Hiroko said, knocking on the other girl's door. "It's Hiroko – could I speak to you?" There was no response.

Muse tried, knocking more vigorously on the door. "Yasu-chama! Hello, Yasu-chama! Why'd you lock yourself in for?" Again, no response. Muse began knocking even harder. "Yasu-chama! Please open up!" Kisu added concerned squeaks of his own.

Yasu sat huddled against her bedroom wall. She could hear her teammates outside, but it was like they were in another world. The echoes of the taunts she heard in the past overrode everything else.

_If you didn't go out of your way to draw attention to yourself – _

_If you just tried being normal – _

_Such a weak, pathetic girl –_

Yasu drew her knees close to her chest. Part of her wanted to go to her teammates, but...

"What am I supposed to do, Papa?" she whispered.

* * *

**Eyecatch One**: _Muse (in cat form) places a bundle of cookies in front of Kisu. He undoes it, only to find chibi versions of Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu, each of whom is enjoying a cookie. Muse looks amused, while Kisu looks a little let down. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

**Eyecatch Two: **_Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu pose in front of a camera. Before it can go off, Muse (in human form) rushes in pursuing Kisu, knocking the girls over and ruining the shoot. Izumi is seen telling off Muse while Hiroko and Yasu sweatdrop in the background. The Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! logo appears in the corner._

* * *

Yasu wasn't at Fukuda Manor the next morning. According to the maid, she and Haruki had already set off for Mirai's campus. Hiroko and Muse followed suit.

"At least Yasu-chama isn't still locked up in her room, right?" Muse asked.

"I suppose..." Hiroko said. "I really do want to speak with her, though."

Hiroko stopped in her tracks. Yasu stood a few yards away from her, sort of frozen in place. A few people were walking past her and whispering. The older girl was wearing Mirai Academy's normal female uniform with dark gray tights, her glasses were askew, and her hair was rather untidy. She hardly seemed like Yasu at all.

"Everyone is staring..." Yasu was whispering to herself. She looked extremely pale. "I'm dressing normally, I'm acting normally... they're still staring..." She swayed a little on her feet.

"Yasu!" Hiroko rushed over and caught the other girl before she could fall. "What's wrong?"

"It's not enough." Yasu said. She was talking past Hiroko and Muse, and her voice sounded more emotionless than normal. "I should just stay home. Stay home and vanish."

"No, you shouldn't! Don't say such foolish things!" Hiroko said, grabbing one of Yasu's hands. The other girl didn't resist or try to pull away. "Muse, tell Shiroka-sensei I'm going to be late – I'm taking Yasu to the infirmary." she told the other girl.

* * *

The Trio, meanwhile, were loitering a few blocks away from Mirai Academy. Neither Kae nor Tobi seemed particularly happy at the moment.

"This is not fair, netsu!" Kae groused, holding up the glass vase, which was almost empty, save for a small amount of black liquid. "I suffered so much for so little, netsu..."

"Oh, _you_ suffered." Tobi snapped. "I get humiliated in front of a bunch of human children and almost _arrested_, but oh no, _you're _the one who suffered."

Kooyoo seemed distracted by something. "Uh, guys-"

"I bailed you out, so shut up, netsu!" Kae snapped back at Tobi. "Typical henchman – relying on the fearsome criminal gang leader for everything, netsu!"

"'Fearsome criminal gang leader'? Really? All I see is a spoiled teenager who turns five-minute plans into five-hours ones because her comic books rule her life, osra!"

"Guys, something happened – "

"Well, if you hate the way I run things, you can just quit, netsu!"

"_Guys_!"

"_What_?!" Kae and Tobi chorused, turning on Kooyoo.

"The vase is filling up, ukii!" Kooyoo said. Indeed more black liquid was trickling into the vase.

Kae's eyes lit up. "About time, netsu! Alright, everyone – to the place!"

"Mirai Academy, osra." Tobi said. "And _why _are we returning?"

Kae stared at Tobi as if he'd just asked an extremely stupid question. "I wanna see the results of my awesome criminal handiwork! Isn't that obvious, netsu?"

* * *

Yasu was reclining in one of the beds in Mirai Academy's infirmary. She felt light-headed and sick – and the feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world hadn't diminished at all.

"Yasu, please speak to me – is there anything I can do for you?"

Yasu glanced over at Hiroko. She had a horrible glassy look in her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Because you're my friend, and I'm worried about you!" Hiroko said. "That, and I... I heard about yesterday, and what happened to you before that." She noticed an odd circular black mark, like a tattoo on Yasu's wrist. _Is this... ?_

"Haruki must have told you..." Yasu said. "Then you know how weak I really am." The black marking on her wrist pulsed a little. "You probably just feel sorry for me."

"You're not weak, Yasu!" Hiroko said. "You're _human, _just like everyone else!"

Yasu still felt something twinge inside her heart, and the black mark on her wrist faded, just a bit. "But you saw how I-"

Hiroko shook her head. "That's something you can't control. You didn't need to over-exert yourself to make up for it, any more than you needed to lock your feelings away."

Yasu didn't say anything in response, but the glassy look was beginning to leave her eyes.

"I don't know how it feels, being hurt like that, and I know I can't go back and fix it for you." Hiroko said. She took Yasu by the hand. " But I do know you don't want to be hurt again – and I also know that you have friends who would never let that happen. It won't be like it was before - I'll make sure of that!"

The glassy look continued to leave Yasu's eyes. She remained silent but seemed to be more attentive.

"I want to know all of you, Yasu!" Hiroko said. "Even the parts you think are shameful or weak! You're allowed to cry, or get lonely, or angry, or whatever else – and no one should tell you otherwise!"

Yasu stared at Hiroko. The other girl was tearing up a little, and there was nothing but sincerity there. Yasu gave Hiroko's hand a gentle squeeze, and the glassy look left her eyes completely, as the black mark faded entirely from her wrist. She sat up slowly. "I was acting strangely, wasn't I?"

"You don't remember any of it?" Hiroko asked.

"I do – it just felt like it was happening to someone else." Yasu said. She scrutinized Hiroko. "Did you really mean all of that?"

"One hundred percent." Hiroko said. "If you have any kind of problem, I'll definitely be there. I want us to be friends like that."

Yasu said nothing. She didn't have to – the smile she gave Hiroko said everything.

Just then, Hiroko and Yasu's Puricells went off. "Hiro-chama, Yasu-chama, come quick!" Muse shouted. "Everybody on campus is acting really strange!"

Hiroko prepared to leave... and then stopped to look back at Yasu, who was still seated. "Will you be alright, or do you still need to rest?"

"I..." Yasu started before catching herself. "I'm still tired, but I'll try my best to keep up."

* * *

Hiroko and Yasu arrived to find a commotion in the courtyard of Mirai Academy. Numerous students, all of whom sported black marks on their wrists, were angrily lashing out or crying, seemingly at nothing at all, while their classmates futilely tried to snap them out of it.

"Stop making fun of me – I can't control the way I look!" Misty was shouting at some invisible lecturer, while Muse tried to calm her down.

Shouji, meanwhile, was yelling at Izumi, although he clearly thought he was yelling at someone else. "It was just a little injury, Mom – quit overreacting! Like hell I'm quitting kendo over this!"

Izumi grabbed her adoptive brother by the shoulders. "Stop it, Shouji!" He didn't even seem to notice her.

"Hiro-chama!" Muse ran towards Hiroko and Yasu, who had just arrived. Izumi, who had evidently given up on Shouji, followed her. "And Yasu-chama too! Something's wrong – everyone's been put under some kind of spell, and I keep talking to them, but they won't listen andsomebodyactuallyshovedmeandithurtand-"

"Muse, breathe." Izumi said. "But yeah – everyone just started acting like this! It's not just the students in the courtyard – there's some in the buildings! Even some of the teachers are acting strangely!"

_Teachers..._ Yasu's eyes narrowed. "I thought Kuromori-sensei looked familiar."

"Kuromori-sensei?" Hiroko asked. She was answered by Kae's signature annoying laugh. The Magnificent Trio were perched across from Pretty Cure on a nearby ledge.

"This is _incredible_, netsu!" Kae said. She held the now mostly-full vase of black liquid close to her. "So we did get to create chaos after all, netsu! What a relief!"

Izumi clenched a fist. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Kae made the vase vanish with a wave of one hand. "Well, we were using this place to gather despair nectar or something yesterday, netsu!" Kae said. "It just took a while."

"Gee, I wonder whose fault that was?" Tobi shot back. Kae ignored him.

Kae produced a Rage Pod and held it aloft, causing both the unaffected and affected students to collapse where they stood. "And since that job is gonna be finished soon, we might as well finish our other job, netsu!" She split the Rage Pod into three sections, dividing them among her group before tossing her section at a nearby lamp post. "Dogou-"

Kooyoo threw his section at one of the courtyard tables. "-come-"

Tobi threw his at a nearby tree. "-forth!"

The three objects transformed and combined into what looked like a giant robot made out of plastic, wood, and metal. Its left arm looked like a gnarled tree, while its right arm was made of iron and ended in a sparking light bulb. The Magnificent Trio leapt down from their perch, each taking a spot on the monster's shoulders and head, as it gave a roar and began to drain sealing energy from the air.

Hiroko, Izumi, and Yasu readied their Puricells, as Muse and Kisu took cover. "Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!""

The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"

"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"

"The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"

"Live in tomorrow, fight for today!" the Cure trio said, posing. "We are Pretty Cure!"

"I've been waiting for this, netsu!" Kae said, as the Dogou swung a leafy fist at Pretty Cure, who scrambled out of the way. "That's for laughing at us last time!" The Dogou threw another punch at the Cures, knocking them off-balance. Tora, who was lagging a bit behind the others, was especially affected. "That's for making us look like fools!" The Dogou slammed its fist down onto the shaken Cures. "And that's for stealing our intro speech!"

Cure Kame, who was glowing with black light, lifted the Dogou's fist off the group and pushed forward, sending it stumbling backwards a bit. "You just hexed a bunch of innocent people, and all you care about is your stupid intro speech?!"

"Well, yeah!" Kae shot back. "That speech is very dear to my heart, and you stole it, you thieving... thieves!"

None of the Cures dignified that with a response. Instead, they sent a triple kick at the Dogou, which blocked the assault by throwing its arms up in front of it. The three Cures touched down a few yards away, although Tora's landing was a bit unsteady.

"Why would you do something like this?" Cure Tora said, shooting a glare at Tobi. "It's deplorable."

"Look, it was nothing personal, osra." Tobi said. "I just happened to use your classroom, and I had no idea what those spores would do. It isn't like I wanted to do it anyway."

Cure Tora answered him by sending a pulse of silver energy in his direction. Tobi dissipated the attack by creating a small wind barrier, but he was still clearly shaken.

"Do you honestly think that makes it any better?" Cure Tora demanded, sending another bolt of light at the Dogou. "Do you..." She halted mid-sentence as a pained expression expression crossed her face.

Cure Draco saw Cure Tora lose her balance a bit, just as the Dogou attempted to clobber her with an electrified punch. She pulled her comrade out of the way in the nick of time.

"What's wrong with that one, netsu?" Kae asked.

"Maybe she didn't have enough to eat, ukii." Kooyoo said. He looked thoroughly sympathetic. "That's really awful..."

"Would you shut up?" Cure Kame shouted, rushing towards the Dogou. She weaved out of the way as it tried hitting her, before slamming it with a sequence of gravity-charged punches. The monster gave a weak roar, clearly stunned. "Guys!"

Cure Draco and Cure Tora nodded, each readying their attacks.

"Pretty Cure Illuse Ring!"

"Pretty Cure Megaton Shot!"

"Pretty Cure Lune Flourish!"

Draco and Kame's attacks flew full-force at the monster... but Tora's attack seemed much weaker and slower than usual. Just before the attacks connected, each of the Trio members braced themselves. The Dogou glowed a bit with violet light as the attacks connected. All three attacks harmlessly slid off the monster.

"What the-" Cure Draco started. She and her teammates stared in confusion.

"Oh, that's right!" Kae said. "We can combine our powers with Dogou like this, netsu! Isn't it great?" Her eyes sparkled. "Just like Team Black Cross, netsu~"

Tobi sighed. "Dogou, _please _get this over with..."

The Dogou roared and punched both of its fists together, sending electricity-charged razor leaves at the still-stunned Cures. Cure Draco and Kame were hit directly and blown backwards a bit, falling to their knees. Only Tora managed to sidestep the projectiles, and even then, she was sliced by a few of them.

Cure Tora tried throwing another beam of ethereal silver light at the Dogou, but her attack faded and vanished a few feet away from her. "No way..." she whispered, before getting struck by the projectiles herself, hitting the ground painfully.

"Wow, the one in silver ended up being kinda pathetic, netsu!" Kae said.

"Yes, yes, she's very weak." Tobi deadpanned. He looked extraordinarily bored. "Can we just do her and the others in already, osra?"

"You're wrong!" Cure Tora struggled to a kneeling position. "I'm exhausted... and a little scared right now, but I'm not weak or pathetic for that." She flashed back to her conversation with Hiroko, beginning to blaze with silver light as she pulled herself to her feet. "I'm _human_, just like everyone else!"

The Magnificent Trio threw up their hands, trying to block out Cure Tora's intensifying aura, as did the Dogou. Muse and Kisu looked on in amazement, as did Cure Draco and Cure Kame, who managed to stand back up.

"Is that what I think it is?" Muse asked.

The light faded, as a silver, blossom-shaped disc with curved petals and a violet heart in the center, hovered in front of Cure Tora. Her eyes widened in recognition as she grabbed it. "My Cure Arms – the Silver Blossom!"

The Dogou prepared to crush Cure Tora, who simply held her ground. The Silver Blossom began to glow with silver energy. "Pretty Cure Lune..." She sent the Silver Blossom flying at the Dogou. "...Flourish!"

As the Silver Blossom flew, it turned into a whirl of radiant razor petals that tore straight through the Dogou. It gave one last roar and vanished, leaving the lamppost, table, and tree, the Magnificent Trio, who hit the ground hard, looking stunned and a bit worse for wear, and an orb of golden light, which floated over to Kisu.

"Heh, th-that was nothing, netsu!" Kae said, unsteadily righting herself. "Prepare to experience... the Magnificent Tempest! Kooyoo! Tobi!"

The two henchmen took position near Kae, who produced a violet and white ball out of thin air. She charged the ball with energy and passed it to Tobi like one would a soccer ball. He passed it to Koyoo, who kicked it at the rather worn-out Pretty Cure. Cure Kame sprang in front of the ball and kicked it right back at Kooyoo... who triumphantly caught it, rather than kick it back to her.

Kae looked rather horrified. "Kooyoo!"

"What, ukii?" Kooyoo said. He didn't notice that the ball was pulsing with violet light.

Kae frantically gestured to the ball. "Drop it, netsu! Drop it right now!"

"Drop wh... oh." As Kooyoo realized what Kae meant, the ball exploded in an intense burst of violet light. When it faded, the Trio was nowhere to be seen.

Cure Kame blinked several times. "Did they just...?" A heavy thud sounded, far off in the distance. "You've gotta be kidding me..."

Cure Tora collapsed, turning back into Yasu. Cure Draco caught her. To her relief, Yasu was sleeping peacefully.

* * *

The Magnificent Trio had touched down near a riverbank. A teenage girl was looking after Tobi and Kooyoo, her hands pulsing with shining white energy as she attended to their wounds. She looked almost identical to Kae, save her softer eyes and the beauty mark near the outside corner of her right eye. The crystal brooch on her chest glowed white rather than violet, and she wore a mild, somewhat vapid smile.

"Is that any better, Tobi-san?" the girl asked. There was no inflection in her voice.

"Yeah, absolutely peachy, osra." Tobi told the girl. He didn't make eye contact with her.

"That's good, jitsu." The girl turned to Kooyoo. "How about you, Kooyoo-san? Are you alright?"

"Yup!" Kooyoo said. His stomach growled. "I could use some food, though..."

"I see. Then we're finished here." The girl didn't lose her smile, but her voice remained monotone. "You can take over, Kae."

"It's about time, Shahei." Kae's voice, sounding slightly muffled, piped from behind the girl. Shahei's hands moved, seemingly involuntarily, as she twisted her head completely around, revealing Kae's face. The other girl brushed her hair out of her face as the crystal brooch on her chest changed from white to violet. "Hate leaving things to her..." she grumbled, as Tobi got up to leave. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I'm quitting, osra." Tobi said. "I've hated this job from the beginning anyway."

"Oh yeah?" Kae shot back. "Then why did you stick around all this time, netsu?"

Tobi paused for a moment. "I... don't have to answer that. Farewell, and good riddance." he said before walking off.

"Tobi, wait!" Kooyoo called. Tobi didn't respond. "We're best buds, aren't we?"

"Fine, go back to panhandling or whatever, netsu!" Kae yelled after Tobi, who didn't acknowledge her either. "We don't need you at all! I'll get an even better henchman than you! Just watch!"

* * *

Yasu awoke to Kisu nudging her face. She was tucked into her bed, and Hiroko, Izumi, and Haruki surrounded her, looking concerned. She retrieved her glasses from her bedside table and put them on. "Everyone... were you here the whole time?"

"Just in the last few minutes." Haruki said. "We thought you'd want to be left alone for a while."

Muse, now in cat form, sprinted into the room and jumped up on the bed. "Everybody's okay, nya!" she said. "Nobody on campus is seeing things or anything!"

"So wait..." Izumi said. "Why was Yasu the only one affected by whatever that was so early and for so long? That's not right."

Yasu frowned. "Maybe people like me... vulnerable people who lock away their emotions are more strongly affected."

"Maybe." Hiroko said. "But that doesn't count against you. Yasu is Yasu." She noticed that Yasu had removed her glasses and was averting her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"My glasses were fogging up." Yasu said. She met Hiroko and Izumi's eyes as she polished the offending spectacles on her sleeve. She had been crying for a bit – she wouldn't admit it to her teammates, but this was the first time she'd really done so in several years. She noticed Izumi rooting around near her bed. "Izumi, what are you doing?"

Izumi had pulled a manga volume from between Yasu's mattress. It featured two handsome young men locked in an embrace, and the cover read _PRINCE x PRINCE_. A weird expression crossed Izumi's face. "So this is one of your mysterious weaknesses?"

Yasu sat up and snatched the manga out of Izumi's hands. "This is... none of your business, Izumi." she said, flushing a little.

Haruki watched the three girls and one cat chat happily amongst themselves. "Sis, I'm glad." he said, leaving the room. He wanted to stick around, but he had an idea for how to continue his story, and he didn't want to waste it.

* * *

ED: DREAM! FOR TOMORROW

* * *

Muse: Wedding bells are in the air, and Hiro-chama will be the bride!

Yasu: That isn't Hiroko – it's Kou's sister, Atsuko.

Muse: She looks so much like Hiro-chama, though! Oh, but what if she's kidnapped, like those other couples were?

Hiroko: That won't happen – I'll do my best to protect her happiness! If I'm up to it...

Izumi: Why do you sound so unsure?

Hiroko: Next time on Pretty Cure Mirai ~ Spark! "Protect the Bonds of Love!" Let's reach towards a new tomorrow!


End file.
